


Steven Universe 2

by SunshineHeroSol



Series: Danger Watch Universe [5]
Category: Ben 10 Series, Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Book 5, Danger Watch, Danger Watch Universe, Fusion, Puppy Love, Shared Universe, mcu - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-26
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-10 04:46:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,986
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27727661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunshineHeroSol/pseuds/SunshineHeroSol
Summary: After the events of Steven Universe, the young half-gem has been training hard. His powers have grown, and he's even made new friends. However, he still doubts himself, and knows that he has a long way to go before he can earn the full trust of the Crystal Gems. Join Steven as he faces foes, discovers new powers, and learns the truth about his past. (Danger Watch, Phase 1 Book 5)
Relationships: Connie Maheswaran/Steven Universe
Series: Danger Watch Universe [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1755103
Kudos: 8





	1. Full Disclosure

**Author's Note:** _Hey! Welcome to a brand new story! Steven Universe 2 is a sequel to Steven Universe, which is an AU retelling of Steven's story, in a world he shares with many other young heroes. While you don't necessarily have to read the other stories in the DWU if you don't want to, I do recommend you read the first Steven Universe, as this story is its direct sequel._

_If you're new and want to know more about the Danger Watch Universe, check out my profile. If you aren't new... You already know what time it is. Let's jump right in._

* * *

**Chapter 1 - Full Disclosure**

"Psst… Steven… Wake up!"

Steven groaned turning over in his sleep. A gentle hand prodded his face, and then lightly slapped his cheek, prompting him to wink a tired eye open. There, looming over him in the darkness, was Garnet.

"Mn…? Garnet?"

"It's midnight!" The large, burgundy gem said, beaming. "Happy birthday! I have a surprise for you."

Steven gasped, suddenly wide awake.

"Are you finally gonna tell me about how you're actually two gems fused into one gem?" He asked. Garnet giggled.

"You already know about all that," she said, booping the boy on the nose. He blushed. "What you don't know is how Ruby and Sapphire first met."

Steven's eyes glittered with stars.

"Garnet story…" he muttered to himself. Garnet grinned, knowing he was ready to listen. She rearranged herself so that the boy was in her ample lap, and reached for the nearby bedside table for a flashlight. She flicked it on, and sat it between them, casting a shadow on the far wall. She began to make shadow puppets. A circle.

"Earth… 5,750 years ago…

The planet was a promising site for the newest gem colony. However, progress was being ground to a halt by an unforeseen circumstance plaguing the planets surface. A small but persistent group of rebel gems, who had taken it upon themselves to intervene with any sort of colonization site that they erected. In response to the threat to the colony, the Diamonds sent an entourage of gem aristocrats to deal with the issue.

Among them was Sapphire, a rare gem with the power to glimpse into the future. She had been assigned a trio of Rubies, a common sort of soldier gem, to guard her. When their travelling ship had arrived, Sapphire was summoned to the Diamond's war vessel immediately. She was of Blue Diamond's court, and Blue had specifically summoned for her to arrive from Homeworld. She wanted to see what her visions could tell about the war for Earth.

As they arrived at the war vessel, the Ruby guards began to talk amongst themselves.

'I can't wait to see a rebel,' one of them said. 'I'm gonna take 'em out.'

'Not if I do first,' the second said. The third Ruby snorted.

'C'mon guys. We're gonna take 'em out _together._ With _fusion._ That's why they sent three of us,' she said.

'I'm gonna take _you_ out,' the first Ruby said, jokingly shoving the third. They all rough housed around for a bit, until Ruby number 3 was shoved into the Sapphire.

'Oh, my apologies, Sapphire!' She said, dropping to a kneel, embarrassed. The Sapphire looked down at her with a mix of curiosity and fondness.

'That's quite alright,' she said, covering her giggle with a gloved hand.

'Lady Sapphire, we're here,' the first Ruby said, as they approached the chamber of the Diamond.

Sapphire nodded, and hitched up her dress, striding ahead.

'My Diamond,' Sapphire said, as she entered the chamber where Blue Diamond awaited. It was a vast, near-empty chamber, home only to a towering throne with light-silk curtains that hung down like a canopy bed.

'My little Sapphire,' Blue Diamond had said, towering over the smaller gem. 'I am glad you're here… Please. Tell me. What will come of this rebellion?"

Sapphire assumed her place in the center of the room, where she could be inspected fully by the Diamond. She straightened her dress, and saluted her Diamond properly."

With that, Garnet made a symbol, crossing the backs of her hands and forearms, to shape a diamond. It echoed on the shadows on the wall. Steven continued to listen, fully captivated.

"Sapphire then clasped her hands together, and began to use her gift. Futurevision. She spoke what she saw, as she saw it, ot the Diamond.

'The rebels will attack, today, no, minutes from now. They will destroy the physical forms of me, my Ruby entourage, and a few of the stationed Amethysts. Then, they will be brought down by the overwhelming force of the garrison… And that will be the end of the rebellion.'

Blue Diamond nodded, though she did not smile. Blue Diamond rarely smiled.

'Will she be here?' Blue asked, clutching her fingers like a claw.

'... Yes,' Sapphire said, after focusing with some effort on her vision. 'Rose Quartz will be there.'

Blue seemed satisfied.

'Thank you. You've put me at ease, my little foreseer. Off you go, now.'

With that, Sapphire left. The Rubies, who had been listening at the entrance, tried their best to act nonchalant as she returned from the chamber. They began to walk, slowly, towards their passenger car, that would have taken them back to their frigate. However, Sapphire paused, and slowed to a stop, looking down at rippling ocean, the rolling forests, the impossibly tall mountains. She laughed a little. Despite the odds, they somehow reached the clouds. The Ruby who had nudged her before came to stand beside her.

'Lady Sapphire?" She asked.

'This planet is so… beautiful. I would have liked to see more of it.' Sapphire said.

Ruby gave her a reassuring smile.

'Well, there's still time.,' she said. This made Sapphire laugh.

'That's a nice thought… However-'

Right on cue, there were cries of pain from further down the docking zone. Two burly, purple gem guards suddenly poofed, and amidst the clouds of smoke they emitted, a pair of figures suddenly arrived. The remaining group of Amethyst guards went charging forward, but they were large and burly.

The gem that darted out of the fog was anything but.

She was like an arrow! She dashed forward, wielding two swords like a ballerina, dancing a deadly dervish with the Amethyst guards. They were no match. Poof! Poof! Then, she turned her attention to the trio of Rubies.

'C'mon, Rubies!' One said, 'Protect your Diamonds!'

They all let out battle cries, and threw arms around each others shoulders. The trio was then bathed in a shower of red-white light. Seconds later, an enormous, 10-foot Ruby was stomping into battle, towards the dispersing smoke of their fallen comrades. With a low bellow, the big Ruby swiped one massive hand forward. Then, sheen! A flash of pink light, and the attack was deflected by some kind of shield! The Rubies didn't even see what happened next. Slash, slash! They were poofed.

All except one.

Her handiwork complete, the Pearl sheathed one sword, and began to stride towards the Sapphire. From her position on the ground, Ruby saw the entire thing. Sapphire hadn't moved. She didn't even try to run away. Ruby realized, then, that she had seen the whole thing coming. That's why she had seemed to melancholy earlier. Sapphire had accepted her end.

Ruby, however… Ruby had not.

With a cry of defiance, the little red gem charged forward, tackling Sapphire, and saving her from the wrath of the renegade swordsgem. As they flew through the air, there was a sudden burst of light. The rebels froze, transfixed, as to their surprise, an entirely new gem appeared on the other side. This new gem looked down at herself. She was… two gems… and one gem… and neither! This spectacle bought the remaining Amethyst guards time to swarm in, prompting the rebels to make a strategic retreat.

However, all was still not well. Ruby and Sapphire split apart, as the angry stares of the gem aristocrats began to swoop in. They had never seen fusion between two types of gems before.

'How dare you fuse with a member of Blue Diamonds court?' some said.

'This is blasphemous!' Some said.

'You'll be shattered!' Others said.

Sapphire knew it to be true. It was unheard of. As the guards closed in to seize them, the little blue gem moved on instinct, grabbing Ruby by the wrist and bolting. After what she had done for Sapphire, she couldn't let the Ruby be crushed. Though Ruby barely understood what was happening, soon, they were both flying off of the edge of the ship, and falling down to the surface of the beautiful planet below…"

Garnet smiled.

"The rest… is history," she said.

Steven sat there, mouth agape, still staring at where Garnet's elaborate hand puppets had been. Then, he whirled around to face Garnet, firing off a million questions.

"So you weren't always with the rebellion? Wait, you were almost shattered? What about fusion? Like, why is it so weird to fuse two different gems when its perfectly normal to fuse with the same kind of gem? Isn't it all fusion?" He paused. "Can… Can gems fuse with humans?"

Garnet let out a soft laugh, and ruffled Steven's hair, the sensation of which instantly caused him to remember his drowsiness. Garnet's motherly, protective presence tended to do that.

"Oh, Steven," she said, "you're so curious. Rose tried it once, but… That's a story for another night. For now, you need to get your sleep. It's a big day tomorrow! You need to be well rested for your Gem Trial!"

With that, Garnet kissed Steven on the forehead, and returned to her room. Steven, at first, had no idea how he was expected to sleep after such a riveting story; not to mention reminding him of his fabled Gem Trial. It was an ordeal that the gems had been alluding to for months, supposedly, a true test of his powers. His official entrance to the Crystal Gems. Despite his excitement, weariness soon overtook the boy, and he drifted off into sleep.


	2. The Test

**Author's Note:** _Hey again! Welcome back! I hope you're enjoying the story. If you have any comments about my writing, the portrayal of the characters, or what I'm doing with the story, be sure to let me know in the Comments! Thanks for tuning in, and enjoy the chapter._

* * *

**Chapter 2 - The Test**

_Somewhere on Earth…_

Jasper knocked a few rocks free as she slid down the steep cliffside. She clutched the wall until she was at safe(ish) distance, and then pushed off, free-falling until, with a loud, crashing noise, she hit the ground in a three point landing. She stood, her tattered cape pulled up like a cloak, and surveyed the area. It was a strange, pockmarked canyon, littered with alien technology. Huge, jutting machines that ended in deadly needle points clung to the walls of the canyon.

The Kindergarten.

The orange gem shuddered at the hundreds of empty caverns shaped exactly like her. She was much larger and bulker than most of the exit-holes. Shoving through some littered scrap metal, Jasper approached the nearest of these shallow caverns, and pressed her hand against the inside. Smooth. She was flooded with memories, suddenly, as she felt the familiar grooves. She knew, then, exactly who had been born here. She remembered her. She did not miss her.

She had suffered a rebels fate.

Then, there came a low, bellowing noise. It was behemoth-like, distant, and echoing from further into the canyon. It was the very noise that had drawn Jasper to the once important gem site. She had intended to keep her distance. As the roar frayed to nothing, Jasper's senses heightened, and she began to trudge forward, deeper into the canyon. She had yet to see the beasts of this planet. Many had given her great birth, though she had spotted tracks. She wondered if, here, she could find something that would test her mettle.

Before she could continue her trek, however, the air was suddenly split with a chorus of cries, seemingly in return. They were smaller, but just as horrible. This made Jasper's hair stand on end, and she grunted in surprise. With a sound of distorting air, she summoned her weapon: the hammer-shaped helmet. She glanced from left to right, trying to catch sight of her quarry. After the initial response they had fallen quiet, and that did not sit well with the orange gem. Unfortunately for her, she made a rookie mistake.

She forgot to look up.

So, she was suddenly taken by surprise as she felt the weight of a creature landing on her back. She went stumbling forward, instantly clawing back to try and dislodge whatever it was. However, as she did, a pile of junk she had thought inanimate suddenly sprung to life, lurching forward and letting out a horrible bellow. There were various, multi-colored limbs sticking out of the misshapen armor the creature had built up around itself, and they all worked in tandem to send it catapulting with full force towards the already off-balance Jasper.

"Oof!" She grunted, suddenly taken down by the weight of the two assailants.

Then, she snarled. Grabbing the armored monster by the front of its torso(?) she used all of her might in one hand to crush the metal around it, limiting the movement of its multitude of limbs. She felt the other creature scrabbling around in her hair, and, with a thought, hardened that part of her form into deadly spikes. There was a sudden blast of white smoke as the bulk of the creature vanished. That caused Jasper to grimace.

"Wait, what-?"

Her train of thought was suddenly interrupted by the creature she held at bay flailing its limbs as best it could, trying to lash out at her. Jasper snarled, and, rolling forward and enveloping her person in her wild cloud of hair, rolled straight over the inhibited monster like a massive tire over a soda can. Spinning to a stop a few meters away, Jasper wiped scrap metal off of her shoulder, and glanced up. Pouring from the various holes she had thought abandoned were more of the multi-limbed monstrosities. As she looked at them, Jasper couldn't help but snarl in displeasure.

"What… happened to them?"

There were too many, even for her, in the state she was in. Weakened, out of shape, vulnerable. Had she been the gem she had been many rotations of this planet earlier… She shook those thoughts out of her mind, as the great, bellowing roar came again, this time joined in tandem with a partner. That was the last straw. Even Jasper's pride had limits. She turned, and fled.

This was, perhaps, more challenge than she had been hoping for.

* * *

"Alright, Steven, are you sure you understand the rules?" Pearl asked, again.

"Yes, Pearl," Steven said, again.

He, Pearl, Garnet, and Amethyst were gathered around the secondary entrance to the temple. While the first door was nothing special (a ram-shod old cabin door), the secondary entrance was a thing of ancient, alien beauty. It was an ornate door, taller and wider even than Garnet, with 5 circular seals positioned into a star near the top of the door. The seals were color coordinated to a member of the Crystal Gems. A purple seal corresponded with Amethyst, a pearlescent white seal for Pearl. Garnet had two seals, one red and blue, for Ruby and Sapphire respectively, and Steven's seal was pink.

All seals, save for Steven's, now glowed with their corresponding color. The door itself seemed to hum with energy, and a faint mist was slipping out from the cracks and into the main room. The gems stood, like a triad of judges, in front of the door, facing Steven. They boy had a determined look on his face.

"Steven," Garnet said. "I know you've been feeling some doubt after your performance in the fight with Jasper, and at the Sky Spire. However, this test will go beyond that. Your last month of training has brought you to a point you never thought possible."

It was true. After his defeats to first Peridot, and then Jasper, Steven had needed to be saved by the other gems. During that encounter, he had been more of a burden than a help. Despite them reassuring him that he did the best he could, and even freed them from captivity, Steven's shadow of doubt had remained.

"This customized dungeon will test all of the qualities necessary for you to _officially_ become a Crystal Gem," Pearl added, smiling down as a teacher does on her protégé. "There is one room designed by each of us. Clear them all, and you will have completed the assessment!"

Steven clutched his fists with eagerness.

"If you can clear this, then you're ready to _Get_. _Extreme!"_ Amethyst said, showing a bit too much enthusiasm. She suddenly shapeshifted into a hulking, muscular person, with tufts of white chest hair growing. She flexed and hollered, and the mist pouring out of the door became purple for a few seconds.

Garnet cleared her throat. Amethyst, reading the room, quickly shapeshifted back and regained her serious composure. Steven, who had used a lot of his personal willpower to resist laughing at Amethyst's absurd transformation, snapped back into focus as well.

"Are you ready?" Garnet asked.

Steven nodded.

"I'm ready."

Garnet held her hands, palms forward, towards the door. Her gems began to cast a faint light that reflected off of her seals. Pearl leaned her head, gently, towards the door, and a similar strand of light formed between her and the door. Finally, Amethyst pulled down a bit of her baggy sweater to reveal her own gemstone. It, too, sent a beam of light towards the door. Now complete, the door slowly crept open, revealing an inky black beyond. Steven gulped. He took one deep breath, steeled himself, and went forward, flip-flops flapping, into the dungeon.

"Good luck," Amethyst called after him, as the door began to slide shut, "you're gonna need it!"

Then, the door closed, nd the room fell into darkness. Steven suddenly felt a sense of spatial displacement as he lost the use of his sight. Then, suddenly, he could see again? He blinked as his pupils dilated. The room, he realized, ,was now illuminated by a number of free floating torches, lit with a dull, magenta flame. The room itself was vast and cavernous, and Steven was standing on one end of a bridge that seemed to be the only sort of floor to speak of.

The boy glanced over the side, and into a chasm of spiky stone. He gulped, and looked out to the floating torches. If he fell, he would have no chance of reaching for one. They floated too far from the bridges edge. Shaking off the edge that came with standing at such a height, Steven began to look at the bridge itself. It was simple, stone, and seemed to lead to a basic looking door. The door had no handle.

"I wonder if this is… Amethyst's room?" Steven muttered, turning to see what he could find behind him. He was actually startled by what he found, and took a heart-stopping-ly quick step backwards, almost losing his balance.

The bridge seemed to slope up, steeply, it's edges curving to form some kind of slide. At the base of the slide was a massive stone statue, with a wide, gaping mouth of sharp, carved teeth. She had wild hair, menacing eyes, and a familiar look to her. The slide seemed to protrude from her head where a tongue might go.

"Yep," Steven muttered, "this is definitely Amethyst… Creepy. Classic."

As he continued to stare at the statue's mouth, there came a rumbling sound from inside, and the torches that floated in the chamber began to burn twice as bright. Steven looked around, trying to figure out what was going on. Then, to his dismay, something began to inch out of the fanged mouth of the Amethyst statue. As it came further into view, Steven realized that it was, in fact, a massive, stone sphere. As it emerged from the statue's mouth, the ball seemed to pause for a moment before, with a painfully slow tilt, it began to roll down the slope. It gained speed rapidly, and soon it was hurtling towards Steven!

"Wah!" He shouted in surprise, turning and running as fast as he could go. His floppy pink shoes threw him off, however, and he knew that he would never outrun the quickly approaching ball of doom. It was right on top of him! He only had one option.

_p-TONG!_

There was the sound of two orbs colliding, as, in a burst of pink, Steven summoned his bubble of pink energy. On collision, the bubble cracked slightly. The rolling stone ball hit him like a cue ball, and sent him flying back, off of the bridge, before bouncing off of the far wall, and down towards the pit of spikey hazards. Steven squeezed his eyes shut and hoped that his bubble would hold a final, crucial impact.

It did. He barely felt the gentle collision with the floor as his bubble peeked one eye open and realized, luckily, he had landed in one of the wide patches between the enormous spikes. Standing and dismissing the cracked bubble, Steven squinted up at the bridge he had fallen from. It was a high fall, more than 5 times his height at least, and there was no support beam of any kind for him to scale. The walls of the room, too, were mostly smooth, gemtech exoskeletons.

He was stuck down there.

Steven put his hands on his hips. What a problem he had before him. Glancing around, there was nothing of use to him on the floor. It was entirely level dirt, disrupted only by the jutting, stony spires every 2 meters or so. For a moment, fear fluttered in Steven's heart. Had he done something wrong? Was he not supposed to end up down here? There were, after all, deadly spikes to signify it was somewhere he didn't want to go. Had he broken the dungeon?

Then, he paused. There was no way. The gems themselves had built this dungeon, and while Amethyst might have been a bit of a wild card, Pearl and Garnet would have made sure that things were completely in order. He knew it. This was just another part of the test.

"So that must mean…" Steven muttered, looking down at his hands, "There must be a way… I just, uh, haven't thought of it yet."

With a sound like distorting air, Steven summoned his shield. He made it wide enough to stand on, and then made it float horizontally in front of him. Sticking his tongue out in concentration, Steven rubbed his hands together, before taking a couple of running steps and jumping up. He attempted, to push off of the shield, but the moment that he made contact with it, it connected to his feet like it would his arm. Where he expected to find solid resistance to push off of he instead found air, and he went toppling facefirst into the dirt.

" _Oof,"_ he grunted.

After laying there for a few humiliated seconds, Steven dismissed the shield and pulled himself to his feet.

"That didn't work…" He said.

It was time to try something else. However, nothing came to mind. Steven stood, hands on his hips, thinking about what to do next. Then, an inkling ran through his mind. Something like a memory, or a trace of one. His hand went absently to his stomach, though he didn't even notice. He was focused on the bridge above, and his only exit.

With a grunt, Steven jumped. He didn't get very high, and his feet landed with a minute _flap-clap_ on the dirt below. He stuck his tongue out slightly, and focused on the bridge above. Focused on clearing the space between him and it. Again, he jumped. Again, he didn't get very far. Again, there was a _flap_ as he landed. Determined now, he jumped again. This time, he still got the same distance into the air, but as he descended, he felt something. When he landed, he paused. Something felt different. Then, with a jolt, he realized what it was.

His flip-flops hadn't made a sound.

He had lightened his landing somehow.

His heart beating with excitement, Steven renewed his efforts. He jumped again, and this time, on the way down, he felt a noticeable change in how fast he fell. It was as if gravity had been lowered on him. When he hit the ground, he sprung off of it like a trampoline, shooting up into the air. He made it nearly twice his original jump height, and then, slowly, began to descend. In the handful of seconds it took to fall, Steven glanced down at his dangling feet in disbelief. Then, he started laughing.

"Hahaha, awesome!" He cheered, as his feet connected with the ground. He then pushed off, rocketing high into the air, above the bridge, near the ceiling of the dungeon. "I've got floaty, super… jumpy powers!"

As he began his calm descent from the roof of the room, Steven angled himself so that he would float towards the bridge. As he did, he realized that the large, stone orb that had collided with his shield was exactly in the same position it had been when it had hit him. He wondered if it was magically connected to the bridge. Wouldn't it have fallen off?

With a gentle tap of his flip-flops against his heels, Steven landed safely on the bridge, on the opposite side of the boulder. He glanced up at it warily, and cautiously turned to walk towards the other end of the bridge, where some kind of closed door awaited him. As he walked, he almost heard some kind of rumbling sound. He quickly turned over his shoulder to see if there was more to the room, but only saw the rock. Shaking away his paranoia, Steven continued on, still running on the adrenaline of his newfound power.

"I've got floaty powers, I've got floaty _powah,_ " Steven said in a mock version of his father's rock and roll voice, doing a little air guitar as he approached the door. As he grew closer, the air shimmered, and a holographic, golden star flickered into view in front of him. It seemed to beckon to him, and he reached out a hand to touch it.

As he reached into the hologram, the star seemed to pop like a piñata, and digital confetti came streaming out of it. There was fanfare from somewhere, and the stone door slid open. Then, the hologram vanished, and Steven was left staring at the open door. Confident now, he strode forward, walking through a brief, stone hallway lit by the same glowing torches. When he emerged on the other side, he had to blink as his eyes adjusted to the brightness.

This room had an entirely different aesthetic from the last. It was pristine and futuristic looking, made entirely of cool greys, blues, and whites. There was a large, alien looking terminal in the center of the room, with a large screen and an enormous keyboard full of buttons. Some, Steven recognized, like the on button of a washing machine. Others, he was clueless about. As he looked over the keyboard, the screen blinked on, and a solid white line stretched across the center of the otherwise black screen.

" _Hello, Steven,"_ Pearl's voice said, through the speakers of the terminal. As she spoke, the line on the screen seemed to jump like it was registering her audio. " _This is a pre-recorded message. For my part of the test, I wll be having you perform a questionnaire on Gem facts and trivia!"_

Steven, after the thrilling excitement of Amethyst's dungeon, was a little underwhelmed, but knew that it stood to reason. Pearl _would_ be the one to test his mind over matter skills. The slight air of haughtiness in her voice told him that she had foreseen him coming to this conclusion already by the time of recording.

" _Answer three questions correct, and you will increase the difficulty level. Complete three questions on Hard difficulty to pass through,"_ came Pearl's recorded voice. " _Ready?"_

"Um-"

" _Then let's begin! Question number 1: what is a gem's physical form made out of?"_

"Light," Steven said, "that one's easy."

" _Well done! Question number 2: what is the name of Homeworld's system of government?"_

"The… Great Diamond Authority," Steven said.

" _Excellent! Question number 3: what kind of gem is capable of changing its form as they please?"_

"Oh, it's Am-" Steven caught himself. He realized, just in time, that it was a trick question. While Amethyst often used her shapeshifting powers, all gems possessed the capability. Well, except for Steven. He still hadn't gotten the hang of that power. "All gems. All gems can shapeshift."

" _... Correct! Great job! Now, we can move on to the medium difficulty. Remember. You need 3 correct answers to progress. Question number 4: name every type of Quartz."_

Steven stopped. _Every type?_ There were probably at least 5 or 6 different kinds. He stuck his tongue out in focus, and racked his brain.

"OK, um. Rose Quartz, Amethyst… Jasper, AND… white… quartz?"

" _Incorrect. The correct answer is: Amethysts, Agates, Jaspers, Chert, Flints, Carnelians, and true Quartzes, which includes gems like Rose Quartz and Cherry Quartz."_

Steven's head spun.

"Woah," he said, "that's a lot of gems."

" _Next question!"_

So it went for the next several minutes, with Steven sort of knowing the answers, but getting slipped up on technicalities. Eventually, though, he got three questions correct, and it was time to move on to the final difficulty. This time, the questions were very specific, minute, and hard to remember. However, luckily for him, three of the questions stood out. He wasn't sure where he knew the answers, but he did.

" _Question number 43: what is the proper name of an Era 2 Diamond's ship?"_

"... Oh. Right. A war vessel."

" _Question number 50: what kind of gem does the fusion of a Pearl and an Amethyst create?"_

"Opal."

" _Question number 53: who led the first assault on Earth during the gem war?"_

"Um.. I want to say… Pink, no, Yellow, no, Blue Diamond?"

"... _Correct! Congratulations Steven! You've passed my test! Good luck with your final trial."_

The screen displayed the same exploding star that had appeared in Amethyst's room, and Steven breathed out a sigh of relief. He had heard about tests from Connie, and he had seen the dangerous glint in Pearl's eye whenever his newfound friend mentioned "homework." If this was what normal school was like, Steven was not sure he ever wanted to go.

Behind the terminal, another stone door opened, and Steven began the walk towards the final chamber. He gulped as he walked through another stone tunnel. Just one test left. More than likely, the hardest.

As Steven emerged on the other side, he was surprised by the atmosphere of the room. He expected it to be shrouded in mysterious. Cool, edgy, and more than a little intimidating. Instead, it was some kind of tranquil ruin. The structure was built like half of a colosseum, made from smooth grey stone. It oversaw a bright blue sky, and the placid, teal ocean below. The hallway deposited Steven in the bottom of the structure, at the base of the stone bleachers.

As he emerged, clusters of reddish-violet light began to gather themselves seemingly from nowhere, forming a cloud and blocking his path. He watched as they rapidly stitched themselves together, forming first feet, and then legs, and then an entire, hard-light projection of a familiar, towering gem. She had a blocky afro, powerful legs, and as she held her arms lazily at her sides, two heavy gauntlets appeared on her fists.

Garnet's trial. Holo-Garnet.

"Do you wish to engage in combat?" She said, in a smooth tone.

Steven, now sweating, looked around. What could he use to his advantage? Surely there was some kind of strategy he was supposed to employ. Maybe his newfound super jump? He scanned the stone bleachers, and saw nothing that would aid him. The Holo-Garnet spoke again.

"Do you wish to engage in combat?" She said again, this time taking several purposeful steps towards Steven, causing him to jump back in fear and summon his shield instinctively. He had practiced against holo-gems before. The last time had been when Pearl had tried to teach him to swordfight. It… had not ended well. Needless to say, Steven was not a fan of the training entities the gems seemed keen on employing.

As his shield deployed, the Garnet seemed to focus in on it, behind her holographic sunglasses. Steven glanced nervously from the shield to her, waiting for her to charge in on him and start the fight. However, to his surprise, she did no such thing. She simply waited, staring. Then, suddenly, she took an aggressive lunge forward, raising a fist as if to strike. Steven flinched, throwing up the shield again.

"Do you wish to engage in combat?" Holo-Garnet repealed. This time, she prompted a response.

"Hng- No! I don't!" Steven shouted.

After a moment of silence, Steven winked from behind the shield. Holo-Garnet was towering before him, looking down at him, hands calmly at her sides once more.

"No?" She said. Steven shook his head furiously. "I don't understand."

"We don't have to fight," Steven said. "If you just… let me through. You can stay here. Hang out. Do your own thing?"

To his surprise, Holo-Garnet seemed to actually consider it.

Then, to his further surprise, she stepped to the side, allowing him to walk past.

"OK, Steven," the holo-gem said. "I accept. Let's not fight."

Steven's mouth formed a wide 'O'. It was that easy? Garnet's trial, which he had assumed would be the hardest of the three, had been overcome with… Being nice? Steven, in pondering the never-ending wisdom of Garnet, began to wonder what the metaphor here was. What was the lesson?

Whatever the lesson was, it would have to wait. Despite being unsatisfied with the ending of the trial, and not entirely sure what he had learned other than his own skill level, the final stone door slid open, and Holo-Garnet made heart-hands, inside of which the holographic star exploded into confetti one last time.

"You did it, Steven. Great job. Go on through," Holo-Garnet said.

Mind still racing, Steven walked through the last stone hall, and when he emerged on the other side, he was met with a cascade of shouts.

"Surprise!" Several people shouted in unison.

So surprised, was Steven, that he jumped. However, having forgotten about his new super power, he jumped so high he hit his head on the ceiling of the temple.


	3. Steven's Birthday

**Author's Note:** _Heya! Welcome to Steven 2's inaugural LATE NIGHT chapter. I'm tugging around at the heartstring a little bit with this one, and setting up some stuff that I will pay off further on into the series. Who is your favorite ship in Steven Universe? What about Ben 10, or any of the other series in the DWU? If you've got a particular pairing you'd like to see, let me know in the comments! This especially applies to crossover couple ideas, since I haven't really begun to think about who I want to pair up yet! _

_Anyways, enough talk. Let's jump right into it!_

* * *

**Chapter 3 - Steven's Birthday**

"Steven!" Shouted Pearl, rushing to the boy's side. "Are you alright"

"Erh, yeah," Steven laughed, rubbing his head where he had thumped it on the ceiling. "I really wasn't expecting that."

"We wanted to do something special for the end of your Gem Trial, and we _also_ wanted to do something special for your birthday," Amethyst said. She stood next to Garnet, who held a begrudging Peridot under her arm like an angry kitten. The two gems had thought it would be fun (and hilarious) to strap a little party hat to the green gems head and drag her along to the festivities. So they had.

"We even invited your friend, Connie!" Pearl said, rubbing Steven's forehead motheringly with a thumb. "I know how you human children like to "hang out" with people your age at this sort of thing."

Amethyst snorted.

"Woah, Connie's here? Where is she?" Steven said, suddenly looking a tiny bit pink.

"She's outside, with Greg," Garnet said, a cool smile on her lips. "He's making hot dogs."

"The one's Amethyst hadn't eaten raw, anyway," Pearl remarked.

"Oh, man," Steven said, his mouth watering. "I'm starving. That super jump must burn up a lot of calories."

"Don't think I forgot about that, mister," Garnet said. Then, she turned towards the door, Peridot still in tow. She had given up struggling a long time ago.

After their fateful encounter on the Hand Ship, and its subsequent destruction, Peridot had become something of a prisoner. She had confined herself to the bathroom (much to Steven's chagrin), and the gems had pretty much just let her shack up in there. The only person who could enter without much grief from the little green gem was Steven, who had made a truce with her, since he had to use the bathroom for various things throughout the day.

For weeks, it was silence, or else insults or murmurs to herself. Eventually, though, she began to speak in short bursts with Steven, though the conversations were rarely pleasant (or polite). As Peridot slowly accepted the fact that she was stranded on the planet for the time being, she let down some of her rigidness. In response to this progressive behavior, the Crystal Gems began to grant Peridot more freedoms. For instance, giving her an old tape recorder Steven had found in Greg's van.

Or bringing her to a birthday party.

The entourage made its way outside, and down to the beachside. As they walked, Steven was hit with the smells of sea salt and grilled meat. He spotted his father, hair blowing gloriously in the wind, and Connie, who was clutching her sun-hat so that it wasn't blown off of her head as a squall from the sea blew past. She turned and smiled, waving at Steven as she saw him approach. He smiled and waved back, and made his away across the sand to met her.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he said back.

"Did you know I was coming?"

"Not at all," Steven said, with a laugh. "I didn't even know my dad was."

"Hey, kiddo!" Greg said, as if on cue. "Dogs are almost done. I hope you're hungry. I even bought relish!"

Connie and Steven smiled back at Greg, but then turned back to each other in the way that young people do. Connie's face was full of curiosity, but also concern.

"What happened during the test?" She asked gently.

Steven shrugged.

"Oh, you know. Giant spikey pits, alien pop quiz, and a duel to the death with a clone of Garnet."

"Woah, no way! You beat a clone of _Garnet?_ "

Steven winced, and glanced over his shoulder to where Garnet was in line behind Amethyst to get a hot dog. While she didn't need to eat, she found that sometimes she enjoyed it. Particularly on special occasions, and it was known that she felt rude if she refused a home cooked meal from a human. Amethyst, of course, loved the feeling of eating, and stacked her plate high with sausages.

"No," Steven admitted, turning back to Connie. "It was weird.. She just sort of let me go when I said I didn't want to fight."

Connie gave him a little lopsided frown.

"It just gave up?"

"Well. I mean, she asked if I wanted to fight… and I just… said no."

"So maybe that was the test? Since you knew you couldn't beat Garnet head to head, maybe you were supposed to use your negotiation skills," Connie suggested, with a shrug.

Steven slapped his forehead with his palm.

"Oh, of course! That makes perfect sense!" He said. "Leave it to Garnet to seem the simplest, but actually be the most complicated."

They both laughed a little, and then were ushered over by Greg to receive plates of food. Everyone gathered in a circle then, and enjoyed the meal. Only Pearl refused to eat, though she sat politely beside Garnet. She avoided looking at Greg directly. Steven noticed. Amethyst noticed him noticing, and began to talk to try to fill the void of silence.

"Man… Hard to believe this is the same spot where we were fightin' Jasper two months ago," she said.

"Indeed," Garnet said, picking up on her intentions.

"That was so scary," Steven added.

"I'm glad that we all made it out," Pearl remarked.

"Me too," Greg said, tentatively. Pearl didn't seem to react. "When Steven told me what happened I… Well, I nearly lost my lunch."

"I'm just glad I don't have to keep it secret from you anymore," Steven said.

"So am I, kiddo," Greg said, ruffling his sons curls. "My son's a real Crystal Gem now. Crazy!"

"I wish I could have done something to help," Connie said, returning to the previous topic. "If I was here I would have-"

"You would have gotten in the way," Garnet said.

Pearl glanced at the girl's expression of sad acceptance. She recognized it, but said nothing. The expression soon faded, however, and she turned to Steven.

"Do you want to open your present?" She asked.

Steven's eyes sparkled.

"You… got me a gift?" He said.

"Well, yeah, I couldn't just show up to your birthday party without a present," she said. Steven smiled sheepishly, and Connie produced a flat rectangular box, wrapped meticulously in a light blue wrapping paper and sealed with a bow.

Everyone watched as Steven took the gift, and, with their silent encouragement, began to unwrap it. The box had a lid, and, lifting it, Steven found that there was neatly folded pink fabric in the box. He pulled the button-up shirt out and examined it. It was slightly long for him, he figured. Connie, seeming to read his mind, grinned.

"I figured you'll grow into it. My mom says boys your age will randomly start growing super tall," she said. Then, she blushed and looked off to the side. "I dunno how that works with you being part gem, but, I'm sure you'll at least get a _little_ taller."

"I love it," Steven said, unable to hold back his beaming smile. He filed her comment about height away for another time, as Greg placed his gift down in front of him. Now even the lumbering pink Lion had come to snooze nearby, one eye cracked and lazily watching Steven.

The item was poorly wrapped, and parts stuck out so that it was very clear what it was. However, as Steven picked up the small, guitar-shaped parcel, he giggled and held it up to his ear, shaking it as if he wasn't sure what it was.

"Huh," he joked "I wonder what it is!"

Then, seeing Greg's anxious face, he eagerly tore the paper away and marveled at the instrument. It was a ukulele, of really nice quality. Steven had often expressed interest in Greg teaching him guitar, and the old rocker had always told him that "rocking was a process" and that he needed to start small. This was starting small. The half-gem beamed up at his dad.

"So you'll-?"

"We can start whenever you're free from gem training," Greg said, cracking his knuckles and leaning back in his beach chair. "I've been wanting to get back into practice, myself."

Visibly excited, Steven turned to the gems. Garnet gave him a smile.

"You've passed your gem trial. For the time being, I'd say your skills are up to par," she said. "You can start as soon as you'd like."

"Alright! Finally!" Steven said, thrilled to be learning an instrument.

After this, the party devolved into music, as Greg put on a few jukebox tunes, and reminisced with Garnet and Amethyst. Pearl kept to herself, though she checked on Steven and Connie every now and again, even offering to teach Connie some swordplay if she felt it would put her mind at ease. (Connie had politely declined, due to her schedule being full.) It became a bittersweet, adult conversation as they began to discuss, inevitably, Rose. There couldn't be a talk about Steven's birth without also mentioning the anniversary of Rose's death. She had, after all, given up her physical form to create him.

Connie, sipping a cup of fruit punch, picked up on Steven's somberness, and decided she needed to distract him.

"Hey," she offered, "do you wanna go for a walk? Maybe we can get donuts."

Steven quickly nodded, and the two of them took off across the sand, towards the path that led into town, stopping in with Pearl only briefly to tell her where they were off to. The walk to the Big Donut was quiet, and it wasn't until they were out of earshot of Greg and the Crystal Gems that Steven started to talk.

"I just don't know if they trust me, you know?" He said. "Like. They give me this huge trial, but they won't tell me practically anything about my mom, or the war, or anything that isn't useless trivia. Am I a Crystal Gem or not? I mean, I guess I understand them wanting to keep me in the kiddie pool. After all, I was sort of useless in the fight with Jasper… and the fight with Peridot."

Connie waited for his outburst to finish, and then chided him slightly.

"Quiet beating yourself up," she said. "You did your best on the Hand Ship. You saved Garnet, and Amethyst and Pearl."

Steven pouted a bit more, and Connie shook her head.

"Listen, it's the same way with my mom and dad. Parents just… don't want you to grow up too fast," she said. Then, she giggled. "Honestly, Pearl and my mom would get along… Ya know, if Pearl wasn't an alien."

They both laughed at that. They had arrived at the Big Donut now. It was a small chain shop located near the edge of Beach City, and it was one of Steven's favorite places to get snacks. In front of the lavender awning of the shop entrance were several umbrella tables. At one of these tables, a group of teenagers was gathered around, sipping soda and listening to music being played out of a speaker. One of them, a lankier boy with shaggy white hair, held the speaker in his hand, nodding enthusiastically. As they approached, Steven and Connie began to overhear some conversation.

"Ah man, this is gonna sound so good coming out of your sound system," one teen, a cute Black girl, said. Another teen, who wore sunglasses and had pinkish sunkissed skin, nodded his agreement.

"Yeah, Sour Cream, this is gonna go hard at the dance tonight," he said.

"Woah, a dance party?" Steven suddenly said, tuning into the conversation as he and Connie walked past. "Where?"

The teens glanced at each other, and then another girl spoke up. She looked similar to the first girl, but her hair was longer, and she seemed a bit younger.

"Sorry, Steven," she said, "it's for older kids only."

"Yeah, no shorties allowed," the boy called Sour Cream said, "sorry man."

"Oh. Uh, no worries," Steven said, turning and walking towards the entrance to the store. "See ya later!"

"Bye Steven! See ya. Etc."

The little bell jingled as Steven pushed the door open, and the two kids were greeted with the warm smell of fresh baked donuts and roasted coffee. The store was cozy and artsy, with a blackboard for the menu and a few nooks with shelves of books to sit and enjoy coffee and a good read. Two teens stood at the counter.

The first was a taller Latino boy, with the sides of his head shaved, and his ears pierced in that way that made his earlobes look really dangly. Gauges, Steven remembered him calling them. He looked eagerly past Steven and Connie, watching the teens outside as they walked away. The other teen was much shorter, a somewhat plump blond girl with a kind smile and pretty eyes. She waved at Steven as he entered.

"Hey, Steven," she said.

"Hey Sadie," Steven said.

"Who's your friend?"

"I'm Connie," Connie said, "it's nice to meet you."

Sadie smiled.

"Nice to meet you too! So, two donuts?" She asked.

"Yes, please," Steven said.

"And a lemonade, please. Oh! And it's Steven's birthday," Connie added a little hastily.

"Oh- _hoho!"_ Sadie said, suddenly looking taking on a coy expression. Steven became bashful, poking his toe at the floor as she smiled at him across the counter. "A lemonade and two _free_ donuts, then. Happy birthday, buddy!"

"Aw, man, thanks Sadie!" Steven said, his eyes twinkling. "You rock!"

"Yeah, yeah," the boy said, suddenly leaning forward to stare at Steven. "What were you and the cool kids talking about?"

"Wha- Lars! You can't even wish the kid a happy birthday?" Sadie scolded him, accepting Connie's cash and handing her a lemonade while she went to fetch their donuts.

"Well? Was it about me?" Lars prodded, ignoring her. Steven suddenly looked a little pouty.

"They were talking about a cool dance party they're going to later," he said sourly, "but I can't go. Even though I just turned _fourteen."_

Connie choked on her lemonade.

"A dance? Tonight?" Lars said, suddenly intrigued. He turned to Sadie. "Did you know about this?"

Sadie's cheeks turned pink.

"Um, actually, yeah. I was gonna ask you to go with me after our shift was done…" She said, her voice trailing off a little as she spoke.

"So you have an invite? Nice!" Lars said. "You rock, P2."

Sadie went red straight to the tips of her ears.

"Oh, heh, it was nothing. Jenny and I have Calculus together."

"OK, well. Thanks for the donuts! Have a good night, guys," Steven said.

"Oh- Bye, Steven. Happy birthday again!" Sadie said.

"Yeah. See ya," Lars said.

With that, Connie and Steven left, making their way back down to the beach. At this point, the sun was getting low in the sky, casting a beautiful pink and orange glow over all of Beach City. They each took out a donut from the bag, and munched on them happily. Steven ate his much faster than Connie, and she giggled at the fact. Then, after swallowing a bite of donut, she paused, looking up from her shoes in the sand and glancing to Steven. He looked back.

"I didn't know you turned fourteen until just now," she said. "I didn't think you were so much older."

"Older?" Steven said, seemingly confused. "Wait. How old are you?"

Connie rubbed the back of her neck.

"Almost 13," she said.

"Woah! You're actually like a year younger? But- you're so much smarter than I am. I just sort of assumed-"

"There you go again, selling yourself short," Connie said, chuckling and nudging him with her shoulder. He grinned too, and it was his turn to rub the back of his neck sheepishly. They had reached the shore, and Connie set down her half-eaten donut, and the bag, on the shoreline. Then, she slipped off her shoes, and waded ankle deep into the water. Steven rolled up his jeans and joined her.

"I guess you're right," he said. "Thanks… For listening to me, and cheering me up… And just for making my birthday awesome."

Then, to his shock, he was suddenly splashed with cold, salty water! He turned and saw Connie, stooped over, one hand in the ocean, the other covering up her face as she laughed uncontrollably.

"That's what friends do!" She said.

Steven grinned, and then reached down to fling some salty sea water at her! She squealed, and threw up her hands to protect herself, but she couldn't fully stop the onslaught. Her glasses were splattered with water, and she laughed out loud, returning the splash and prompting a brief splash war, resulting in both kids becoming totally soaked. Eventually, they came out of the water, finished playing. They sat on the beach, catching their breath and watching the sun set over the hills.

Eventually, Connie looked over to Steven.

"Sucks that we didn't get to go to the dance party," she said.

Steven sighed, and nodded, looking over to her. She was sitting cross-legged across from him, and something about the intent look in her eyes prompted him to mirror her.

"Steven," she said, her voice trembling a little. "Tell me one last thing you want to try on your birthday."

Steven blinked.

His brain was suddenly empty.

He tried to think of an answer. What could he really want? He had just spent an awesome night with his best friend. Before that, he had overcome a significant gem trial, and even learned an entirely new gem power he had never known he had. His dad and Pearl had even sat in the same general area as each other.

There was only one thing that he could think of.

"It's silly," Steven said, blushing a bit.

"Well, tell me."

"Nah…"

"Steven! You gotta tell me now!"

"I'm not even sure its possible," Steven said.

Connie stood up defiantly, offering Steven a hand.

"Come on. I've seen you fight a giant glowing sea monster! Anything is possible with you!"

Steven accepted her hand, and was hauled to his feet by her surprising grip. They were suddenly standing very close to each other, hands still clasped together. Steven sucked in a breath and Connie's eyes went a little wide. They both looked down, and realized, to their amusement, they sort of looked like ballroom dancers.

"You know…" Steven said, suddenly taking on a cheesy grin. "We might not be able to go to that dance, but…"

He shuffled his foot forward, and Connie, who had taken ballroom dancing lessons but was caught unawares, shuffled back in response.

"We could have our own dance," Steven said with a little eyebrow waggle.

Connie made a small, audible snort. Then, she suddenly took on a determined grin. She ran over to where she set down her things, and grabbed her cellphone. She messed with the settings, and then suddenly, a cute, electronic tune came on. Dropping the device in the sand, Connie came dancing over to Steven. Steven smiled back, and soon, the two of them were jamming out to the song. Then shimmied and shaked, lost in their own little moment.

Lost in the dance. In the mutual security their friendship brought each other.

They barely even noticed when the white-pink light began to emulate from beneath Steven's shirt, and engulf them both.


	4. Alone Together

**Author's Note:** _Heya! Welcome back! Let's jump right in!_

* * *

**Chapter 4- Alone Together**

The first thing they noticed was how blurry things were all of a sudden. Not as blurry as she remembered, but still, blurry. Blinking, they peered around at the hazy waves and vague sand. They needed their glasses. Where were the-

_Crack!_

Something pinched the bottom of their foot, and they winced, though there was little real pain. Glancing down, they realized they had stepped on her… Their. Glasses. They reached down to pluck the broken apparel from the sand. The lenses had shattered under the weight of their foot. Squinting, they realized that they wouldn't have been able to wear them anyway. His… No, their head was too big.

Something was going on. They felt… tall?

Walking awkwardly over to the water, the individual was finally able to get a look at their reflection in the setting sunlight. They audibly gasped.

They were much taller now, with a warm, dusky brown complexion and a wild made of thick, black curls. They wore cutoff jeans and a red crop top with a yellow star on it. The clothing was far too small for them, and still a bit wet from when Steven had splashed Connie.

Splashed… Them?

"Wait, did you-? Did I... ? Did… we?" they said, shocked by the sound of their own voice as they spoke. "I'm not Steven… but, I'm also not Connie? I'm… Stevonnie?"

Stevonnie reached up to touch their own cheeks, and then suddenly, their eyes filled with sparkles.

"Wait a second," they said, "do you know what this means?"

They grinned.

"We can go to that dance!"

They came to the conclusion decisively, and with a giddy skip in their step, took off down the beach, back in the direction they had seen the older kids take off to. As they walked through the sand, feeling the delightfully familiar and yet different feeling of sand in their toes, they heard a faint sound. It was distant, but rhythmic, and impossible to miss.

Music.

As they rounded a bend, and the beach took a more steep curve inland, they found themselves facing the side of a half-destroyed old concrete building. It looked like it might have been a warehouse or a shipping yard of some kind, but whatever it once was had clearly been repurposed. Tonight, there were dozens of lights in various colors strung up around the walls of the building, and a makeshift stage had been fashioned from old wooden platforms. A large sound system had been set up on the stage.

Drawing closer, Stevonnie began to wonder just how many people there were at the dance party. Standing at the entrance was an older teen, with glasses and a head of curly yellow locks. He was scolding a younger boy with similar hair. They were clearly relatives: brothers in fact. Stevonnie pinged them as PeeDee and Ronaldo Fryman. Apparently, PeeDee, the younger brother, had been selling fries to the partygoers: something that was illegal. As Stevonnie approached, PeeDee glanced at them, prompting Ronaldo to do the same. Upon taking them in, the older boy blushed, and his scolding stammered to a halt.

"Hey," Stevonnie said casually, "is this where Sour Cream is DJ-ing?"

"No,- I mean, YES," Ronaldo tried to choke out a sentence, but ended up just nodding. Stevonnie gave him a smile, and strode past him, and into the main party area.

As they opened the small door labeled "employee", the music suddenly became significantly louder. They hadn't anticipated the wall providing such a sound barrier, and as they walked into the party, they were bombarded with loud, female rock singing, that was clearly altered from its original version, and sampled to make an EDM track.

" _-ou will remember! One thing remains! You will remember! You will- Surrender! You will remember my name! Name-na-name~"_

Stevonnie was surprised and excited by the large crowd of people. There were at least 20 teens bopping along to the music, being spun by none other than Sour Cream, who had put on dark make-up and done his hair in a funky style. As the lyrics cut out and the bass dropped, they couldn't help but join in the boisterous jumping that the entire party began to do. As they jumped, they accidentally activated a bit of Steven's jumping power, and, being able to see over the heads of the other partygoers, spotted a pair of familiar faces.

Excitedly, Stevonnie waded through the crowd, and found themselves at a long table with a variety of snacks and drinks strewn across it. Leaning against the wall by the far end of the table was a familiar, lanky teen. Lars. He and Sadie were both playing the part of the wallflower, and while she looked up at him hopefully from time to time, he seemed to have no intention of dancing. Instead, the boy seemed to sulk, arms crossed, watching the crowd enjoy itself. Without thinking, Stevonnie walked over to the familiar faces.

"Hey," they said.

Sadie turned and instantly was star-struck, her cheeks flaring up a bright pink color, her mouth hanging open slightly. Lars' expression, upon turning to see them, changed entirely from a scowl to a bashful, boyish look of surprise.

"Uh… hi," he said.

"How's the party so far?" Stevonnie asked.

"Haha, so cool, like you, you seem cool," Sadie blurted out, before clamping her hands over her mouth.

Stevonnie glanced at her, a bit confused by her apparent anxiousness. Then, they realized that, to them, they must appear like a stranger! No wonder they were so shy.

"Well, enjoy the dance," Stevonnie said, turning to walk away, "or whatever you're doing over here."

With that, they strode out onto the main dance floor, just as Sour Cream began to spin a new, upbeat track. As the rhythm and melodies began to pick up, the fusion couldn't help but feel it pulsing in the soles of their feet. They moved to the beat, and as the song progressed, it picked up in intensity.

Stevonnie never missed a beat. Soon, a circle of people had formed around them, watching them perform their zealous dance. When the song came to its epic conclusion, they landed in a pose, panting heavily, and were met with silence. Then, there were several cheers from the circle around them. The next track began to pick up, and a few people peeled off, but many remind to see what they would do next. They suddenly felt nervous, with all of the pressure and attention.

"Um," they said, brushing some of their suddenly very warm hair behind their ear, "I thought this was a dance? Why isn't anybody else dancing?"

The crowd lingered for a little while longer, until a girl in the crowd seemed to look at Stevonnie with a sort of sympathetic look. She was one of the girls from the Big Donut earlier. Jenny Pizza.

"Alright, y'all, let's boogie!" She said, and a good portion of the crowd agreed, cheering as they dove into the next bout of dance, their spectacle apparently over.

One of the onlookers remained.

The teen stood, about 10 feet away from Stevonnie, his arms crossed. He wore tight-fitting jeans, a cut-up shirt, and a long scar. His hair was dark brown and well kept, and his eyes honed in on them with a glint of something they couldn't quite place. They looked at the boy in confusion for a few moments, until, hand in his pocket, he strode forward until he was a few paces away, and spoke.

"That was quite the show," he said, with smile.

"Um. Thanks," Stevonnie said, attempting to walk past him. "I think I'm gonna go get some water."

The boy held up a hand, placing himself in their way.

"Woah, hey, wait a sec," he said smoothly. "You don't wanna dance with me?"

Stevonnie glanced over at him, squinting suspiciously.

"Why would I? I don't know you."

"My name's Kevin," the boy said, flashing that smile again. "I'm the _other_ best dancer in here. Now you know me. So how 'bout we dance?"

"Look, I said-"

"Don't be like that. Come on, it's a _party._ "

Stevonnie was starting to feel uncomfortable, and the heat of being stared at was now translating into a simmering anger inside of them. They didn't feel good. They needed to go somewhere, but this guy was clearly not going to take no for an answer.

"Fine," they said, "you wanna dance? Let's go."

They stormed over to an empty space on the dance floor, with a somewhat surprised Kevin in their wake, and turned to face them, just as the beat of Sour Cream's song dropped. They started at first to perform a series of aggressive, fast paced dance moves, which Kevin watched curiously. Then, it began to grow more and more sporadic and uncontrolled, as their anger rose and seeped into their movement.

As their movement increased in intensity, they began to make little grunts of anger and exertion, and, before they knew it, there was a bright glow emanating from the pink gemstone still embedded in their naval. Kevin, who had assumed it was some kind of piercing, suddenly stepped a few paces back, throwing up his hands in surprise. He looked around, and found that everyone else was too busy dancing, arguing, or making out to notice what was going on. Then, there was a bright flash, and he turned back to where Stevonnie had been standing.

There were now two children there.

Kevin's face paled.

"What the hell? You were two kids? Screw this, I'm out," he said, looking sick as he threw up his hands and stormed out of the building.

Steven and Connie, now separated, watched him go, and then turned to look at each other. First, Connie cracked a smile. Then, Steven giggled. Soon, the pair of them were laughing hysterically, rolling on the floor of the abandoned building. Eventually, their giggling ceased as someone walked over them, casting a shadow. Opening their eyes, the pair noticed that this was the sister of Jenny, Kiki. She gave them a confused smile.

"Hey, you two," she said. "You ain't supposed to be here."

Connie giggled.

"I can't see anything!" She said.

"Yeah," Steven snorted, "she lost her glasses. We didn't even mean to come in here!"

They both burst out laughing, and Kiki, shaking her head with a wry smile, escorted the pair of giggling tweens outside. Here, they found Lars sitting on a rock, head in his hands. The teen from before, Ronaldo, was trying to comfort him, but Lars kept shoving them away, and as Steven and Connie walked out, both teens turned in confusion.

Then, to their further confusion, there was a loud, warped sound that broke the night. Suddenly, the air in front of the two kids distorted, and a pinkish-white portal appeared.

"What the-!" Lars shouted.

"No way!" Ronaldo said.

Without delay, from inside of the portal jumped a huge, pink creature. A lion _._ Lars jumped up, and he and Ronaldo clutched each other in fear, though Ronaldo's eyes were also full of wonder and intrigue.

"Is that a _lion?_ " Lars shouted in disbelief.

Steven, who was now cradling the oddly affectionate lion's face in his hands, turned back to Lars.

"Oh, uh, yeah," he said. "Its OK though, he's mine."

"How did you-?"

"Sorry gotta go Lars byeeee!"

With that, Steven helped Connie up onto the beast's back, and the trio went jumping through the portal, leaving a dumbfounded Ronaldo and Lars in their wake. Ronaldo's mouth hung open, and once the portal vanished behind them, he turned to Lars.

"You know what this means, right?"

"Shut up, Ronaldo."

" _Petrosapiens, man!"_

"Shut _up,_ Ronaldo!"

* * *

After she gave Steven directions, his lion brought them skidding to a halt in the alleyway across the street from Connie's house. She hopped off of the beast's back, and looked up at Steven.

"How do they look?" She asked, gesturing to the crooked glasses she now wore on her face. She had fully popped the lenses out. She had, however, salvaged most of the frame. Steven gave her a sad smile.

"You look fine, but… How's your vision?" He asked.

"Heh, uh, not great," she said. "I couldn't tell you how many fingers you were holding up."

"I'm not holding up any fingers."

"I know. It's just an expression," Connie said, waving away his concern. "I'll be OK. I'm more worried about telling my mom why I was out so late."

"Sorry, I-"

"Stop apologizing to me," Connie said with a laugh. "I had a great night. I'll call you when I get out of Alcatraz, OK?"

"OK," Steven said, smiling despite himself.

"Happy Birthday, Steven."

With that, Connie waved again, and then walked across the street. Once on the other side, she tripped once on the stairs up to her front door, causing both she and Steven to laugh to themselves. Then, she opened the front door, and was instantly met with a rush of scolding words from inside. She cast one last look at Steven, who waved again, before closing the door.

Once she was safely inside, Steven and the lion returned to the temple.


	5. Steven's Lion

**Author's Note:** _Hey again! We're back with the double post, just because I'm in the spirit of giving, and because I'm excited to keep the story rolling! As always with this project, I'm aiming to capture the spirit of the MCU, weaving plot lines and characters from various IPs together into interesting, alternative, or definitive versions of themselves, in ways that hopefully make for a pretty cool crossover story._

_As we head into the new year, I hope to bring you all much more of the DWU. (Hard to believe we've been doing this for six months!) Writing this story for you all has really helped me stay grounded in a weird year, and I thank you for that. We'll see much more of Steven, Ben, Jake, Jenny, and even more (lookin at u Danny) as their stories continue to develop and intertwine. Again, thanks so much for being awesome, and tagging along for something I hope will be really special!_

_Anyway, that is enough out of me. Happy holidays, and enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

**Chapter 5 - Steven's Lion**

Riding on the back of the great pink lion, Steven's mind was racked with guilt. His friend had been there for him today, and what did she have to show for it? Broken glasses and a grounding. The half-gem sighed, resigning to find a way to repay her, as the lion deposited him on the beach. They climbed the steps leading up the temple entrance, and Steven was surprised at how the lion nudged him affectionately on the way up. He turned to look at the creature, which stared at him expectantly.

"What's with you?" Steven asked.

The lion blinked. Steven giggled.

"Goofball," he said, turning to go inside. As he did, the lion shoved its head against him once more, this time hard enough to knock him off balance. Steven looked at the beast quizzically, and then grabbed its cheeks. "What?"

The lion blinked. Steven yawned.

"Sorry, lion, I'm too tired for your cryptic weirdness," he said, "I gotta get to bed."

With that, he opened the door to the temple, dragging his feet as he made his way up the stairs that led to his loft bed. Kicking off his clothes and flip-flops, Steven collapsed gracefully into his bed, and soon, he drifted off into sleep.

His dream was pink.

He blinked, glancing around at the hazy world around him. He was sitting in some kind of field of grass, which tickled his face slightly. Glancing up, there was a sky. It, like the grass, was rose tinted. Steven stared in wonder. If he squinted, he could almost make out a shape in the distance. A singular tree, it seemed, resting on a mound in the distance. Rising to his feet, he started to walk towards the tree.

After several seconds, he began to feel an aching in his chest, and realized, as he tried to gasp, that there was no air! He tried to scream, but no sound came out. What was happening? As the edges of his vision crept to black, Steven fell backwards into the sea of grass-

And suddenly gasped for air!

He was back in his room, in bed. As he panted, he felt a large, furry shape looming over him. As he squinted in the darkness, Steven was able to make out exactly what it was. The pink lion, it seemed, had crawled into the temple, and up and onto Steven's bed, smothering him in his sleep.

"That explains the dream," Steven muttered, glowering up at the lion, which simply blinked in response. With a sigh, Steven tried to reason with the beast. "Lion. When _you_ , a 400 pound lion, lie down on top of _my_ windpipe. _I can no longer breathe."_

There was no response from the lion, and Steven rubbed his face. Of course there was no response. It was a wild animal. However, as Steven continued to groan, there was a sudden relief of pressure as the massive beast lifted itself, shifting slightly to the side, and curling up in a ball beside Steven. It closed one eye, but kept the other trained on him in the dark.

Steven furrowed his brow. The lion was acting strange, but, it was going to have to wait until morning. A young boy needed sleep. With that, Steven curled back up in his blankets, and drifted off into sleep again.

Once again, he dreamed of pink.

When he opened his bleary eyes to a field of grass once more, Steven was annoyed. He knew that lion had once again began to smother him. However, before he could try to shake himself awake, he found himself looking at the island again. He was much closer this time. He could make out shapes on the hill. A flag, some kind of box, and…

A Mr. Universe t-shirt?"

Steven blinked in confusion. Mr. Universe had been his father's alias back when he used to play rock music. What was that doing in his dream? Curious, Steven crept closer, trying to get a good look at what else was on the island in the sea of grass.

Then, he began to choke again. _Crap!_ He thought, as he ran out of oxygen. He dropped to his knees, frantically feeling around on the ground for some kind of exit. That's how he had woken up before. Tears formed in his eyes as his lungs ached, and soon, his vision went dark again.

Gasp!

Steven was once again on his back, panting for air, the pink lion standing above him, a looming shape in the night. Steven shook his head angrily, making a "no way" gesture with his hands.

"Nope! Sorry, lion," he said, "I'm not gonna let you smother me in my sleep."

Getting out of bed, Steven stormed over to the door of the temple, flinging it open and pointing a finger outside sternly. The lion glanced at him.

"Out," Steven said.

The lion didn't budge.

"Out! I mean it." Steven said, an edge of command in his voice.

The lion, reluctantly, padded down from the loft bed, and stopped at the door in front of Steven, staring directly into his eyes intently. Steven shook his head.

"Go on," he said, turning his head up and away.

The lion's gaze lingered on him for a moment longer before the beast padded out onto the porch. Then, Steven closed the door and locked it behind it. As Steven made his way back to his bed, there came a scratching noise, as the beast pawed at the entrance of the door. Steven groaned, pulling his pillow over his head as the scratching continued.

Finally, agonizingly, Steven drifted off into sleep.

This time, he dreamt of darkness. He was surrounded by an inky black expanse, and only one thing was apparent to him. A boy, strung up by chains that seemed to stretch up and to infinity. The boy was a bit younger than Steven, probably Connie's age, with shaggy black hair. His face was bruised, and his head hung limply. Steven, shocked, took a step towards him. As he did, he sent a ripple of pink through the darkness, and it seemed to echo over to the boy. It had an effect, and the shaggy haired kid suddenly snapped up slightly, his eyes searching in front of him, but sweeping over Steven as if he weren't there.

"Who's there?" The kid said.

Steven gulped. He took another step forward.

"What is this?" The kid said, this time more urgently.

"You're hurt," Steven said, "what happened?"

"How are you in my head?!"

Steven blinked.

"What?" He said.

What kind of dream was this?

"Where are you?" Steven asked.

Then, the boy began to fade away. He called out, apparently to Steven, but whatever he said became garbled nonsense as he and the rest of the dream was wiped away, vanishing into a murky blackness, that Steven swiftly began to forget, as the warm embrace of sleep took him fully, finally, into its grip.

* * *

As the sun began to rise, Jasper was once again thankful that she was no longer taking shelter in the frozen north. She had wandered down to the thick forests of the east coast, and had established a small shelter for herself. A simple hut, with a fire pit and a place to sleep. A small clearing had started to become established around her, marked by trees that she had punched to shreds in her bouts of rage and exercise.

This morning, to the hulking gem's annoyance, she had visitors. Glancing into the clearing, she saw a herd of equestrian creatures. They had hooves, muscular bodies, and long faces, but their dominant feature was their singular, dazzling horns. As the creatures grazed peacefully on the grass in the clearing, Jasper came charging forward, waving her hands threateningly.

"Hey! Get outta here!" She shouted, her actions startling the herd of unicorns and causing them to prance off into the forest. She grumbled as she turned to walk back towards her firepit. "Stupid Terra beasts."

Jasper had had to fight her way through nearly a dozen separate, dangerous gem monsters to get to the place where she was now. She was certain that they were becoming increasingly common, even in her very brief stay on the planet. She wagered this had something to do with the technical jargon her subordinate, Peridot, had been spouting. She cursed herself for not having the foresight to listen to her expert. Whatever the case, she had not seen one of the monsters in many days, but the downside to these moments of peace was that she had to share the space with the local wildlife.

That was exactly what Jasper expected to find when she heard branches breaking around mid-day. Glancing up from her contemplative gaze at the fire, she peered into the forestry, trying to get a good look at what was coming. Then, she began to hear voices.

"-is way, Master. I'm pretty sure these are it's tracks right here!"

Humans. Jasper expression turned sour. Of all the creatures on this miserable rock, they really were the worst.

"Be careful, Fu Dog!" Another voice said, "It's-"

Suddenly, there was a sound that was decidedly inhuman. An ear-splitting roar that shook the treetops and caused birds to scatter in every direction. Even Jasper's ample hair stood on end as the beast gave its battle cry. She rose to her feet, fists clenched and ready to defend her meager home if need be.

"Stay back! _Dragon's Form!"_

There was a flash of purple light further into the forest, and briefly the sounds of combat. Then, there was a sound like thunder cracking, and a large figure came hurtling through the air, landing heavily in the clearing before Jasper. It was a massive gem monster, made of various limbs hewn together in an unsettling manner. Jasper wrinkled her nose in disgust as the beast writhed for one last time before it poofed, shaking the earth as it did so and releasing a massive cloud of white smoke.

As the smoke dissipated, Jasper found herself starting at the largest cluster of gems she had seen yet. It was a massive, boulder sized anomaly, formed out of multiple different gems clearly stuck together into an odd…

Cluster.

Jasper gulped. Something about that word didn't sit right with her. However, she had no time to think it over, because as soon as the smoke was gone, a strange creature bounded into view. It was small, almost insignificantly so, with grey fur and a squished, wrinkly face. It ran on all fours, and as if passed into the clearing, it was obviously making a bee-line for the gem. However, as it came hurtling past, it stopped, sniffing the air, and turned to look at Jasper with keen black eyes.

"Shoo!" She said, waving a hand. The creature cocked its head to one side. "Go on! Where do you keep coming from?"

"I was just about to say the same thing," the creature said. Jasper was shaken by its sudden speech. It was one of the voices from before. It had sounded so human. "You're not one of the bad ones, are ya?"

Jasper scoffed.

"Leave now, and I will spare you."

"Fu Dog! Have you found it?" The other voice called from the woods.

A bead of sweat dripped down Jasper's forehead as she grit her teeth. The creature glanced from her to the forest, and then back to her.

"Uh, yeah, boss!" he called back. Then, in a quieter tone, he said to her. "We're trying to figure out what's going on here… Can you help us?"

There was a lumbering noise as something large began to walk towards their location. Apparently, whatever was this little creature's master had been powerful enough to dispatch that massive gem mutant. With a grimace, Jasper began to back away from the tiny shack. She had no belongings that weren't stored in her gem, and she didn't want to stick around to meet the other thing.

"Hey, wait," the creature, Fu Dog, said. "Where ya goin'? We want to help!"

Jasper dashed off into the forest. She had wandered too close to the human civilization, and now, whatever defenses they had threatened to assault her territory. Or, worse, they could be in league with the rebels, and compromise her location. Neither could be afforded. She was on the move once again, heading further and further south.


	6. Rose's Fountain

**Author's Note:** _Heya, welcome back to another chapter! This one's long, so be sure to cozy up with a snack and a blanket or something. Hope you enjoy! Let's jump right in._

* * *

**Chapter 6 - Rose's Fountain**

The next morning, Steven was awoken by the sound of conversation. Blinking groggily, he realized that he had not gotten nearly as much sleep as he would have liked. He wagered, between bouts of shooing away his lion and the nightmare that followed, he had managed to get 5 hours tops. Now, as the sun bled in through the moth-eaten curtains, the raised voices of the arguing Crystal Gems brought him bubbling up to consciousness.

"Well we can't just let her live in there forever!" Pearl said.

"Well she's not just gonna come out to say hi," Amethyst countered.

"Enough," Garnet said, breaking their argument apart and striding forward to lay a hand on the door to the bathroom. "Peridot. Are you ready to talk today?"

There was a pause.

"-No!" Peridot said, her voice slightly muffled from behind the door. "I have nothing to say to you."

Steven turned over in his bed, keeping the blankets pulled up to his chin as he observed the trio of gems. Pearl rubbed the front of her gem in annoyance.

"We've tried being nice," she said, "we've tried playing games. We need information. Information that you have."

There was a glow, and in a flash, Pearl suddenly summoned a sword. Beneath the covers, Steven's eyes went wide.

"You are going to tell us what you know, Peridot," Pearl said, striding up to the door, "or I am gonna-"

"Pearl."

Garnet put a hand on her chest, and pointed towards Steven, who flinched as he realized he had been spotted by the ever observant Garnet. It must be that third of hers. Pearl turned to see Steven, awake, and went a bit blue in the cheeks as she blushed. There was a flash as she deposited the sword back into her gem.

"Oh- Good morning, Steven!" She said.

"It doesn't matter what you do to me, you crystal clods! Soon the Cluster will emerge and destroy you all! It's only a matter of time," Peridot shouted from the bathroom.

Amethyst squinted at the door.

"What's a 'cluster'?" She wondered aloud.

Steven, knowing that the jig was up, emerged from his bed and gathered up his clothes for the day along with a towel. Walking over to where the gems were standing, he gave a tentative knock on the door.

"I don't know," Pearl said, in response to Amethyst.

"Um, Peridot? Can I come in? I need to shower and brush my teeth," Steven said.

There was a pause.

"No!"

Steven groaned loudly.

"Come _on!_ I barely got any sleep because of lion and my weird dreams, and now I can't even take a shower?"

Garnet looked down at him.

"Weird dreams?" She prodded.

Steven rubbed the back of his neck.

"Yeah, uh," he said, "last night I had a couple of weird dreams. I'm pretty sure the first one was about lion. He was being really friendly last night. The second one was way weirder, and I can only kind of remember it. There was this kid, and he was trying to talk to me, I think. Like I said, it's really groggy, but it was like he was really trying reach out."

The gems swapped glances (which Steven hated, because it always meant that they knew something he didn't.) Pearl was the first to break the silence.

"One of your mother's powers was astral projection. The ability to send a manifestation of your mind into the thoughts of others."

"Woah, like Dreamwalker 2!" Steven said.

Pearl wrinkled her nose.

"Uh, yes, like Dreamwalker 2," she said. "I would avoid talking to anyone in your dreams again. At least until we find a way for you to hone that power."

"So, you mean, I might have actually been in someone else's mind?" Steven said, suddenly looking nervous.

"It's possible," Garnet said. As Steven continued to grow paler, she raised an eyebrow at him. "Is there more you aren't telling us, Steven?"

"He… He looked hurt," Steven said. "The boy in my dream. Like he needed help."

Garnet grimaced.

"Do you think it was a gem monster?" Amethyst said what they were all thinking. "If more and more are popping up, they might be encountering more humans."

"That would be very, very bad," Garnet said. She turned back to Steven. "You said that lion was acting strange last night?"

Steven nodded.

"Perhaps it was trying to tell you something," she said.

"Garnet, please," Pearl said, "the _lion?_ "

"I dunno, P," Amethyst chimed in, "it's obvious that it has some kind of connection to Rose. Maybe it knows something about her powers."

They all turned to look outside, to where the large, pink shape of the lion could be seeing lounging in the sand on the beach. Like always, the creature was basking in the sun, enjoying the warm summer air, more than likely, napping. In silent agreement, the Crystal Gems (and Steven) made their way down to the beach, and as several shadows blocked the sunlight, the lion opened one eye.

"Hello, friend," Garnet said.

"Hey, lion, they wanna know if you uh. Like, know anything about mom's powers?" Steven said, suddenly feeling silly for saying it.

Pearl stuck her nose up haughtily.

"I told you, it's just some strange animal," she said. "It has nothing to do with Rose. She would have told me about something like that."

The lion's eyes lingered on Pearl for a long moment, and then, it yawned, before standing up defiantly, and padding off, tail towards the group. Steven watched him go, a little sad.

"You hurt his feelings," Steven cooed.

_RooAWWR!_

There was a flash of white-pink light, and suddenly, a gaping portal had torn open the space between the waves and the sand, causing the water that came to shore to splash back onto the stones of the portals destination. From where they were standing, they could see overgrown brambles and natural shale formations.

The lion turned back towards them, eyes glowing white for a moment before the energy receded, and then it sat down and licked its paw, ignoring them completely as they walked closer to the portal. Steven grinned as he bounded across the sand, taking long, bouncy leaps with his newfound super jumps, before descending slowly and giving the lion a gentle pat on the top of his head.

"Great job lion! Where does it go?" He asked.

The lion continued to lick its paw. Steven's smile barely wavered.

"Oh, haha, OK! Keep your secrets," he said, shrugging it off and going to walk into the portal.

"Hold on, Steven," Amethyst said.

Steven turned around, looking at the purple gem's serious expression. She jerked a thumb over her shoulder, and Steven followed it to see Pearl, her hands clamped over her face in a vice grip. Garnet stood beside her, muttering encouraging words, and as a single tear fell from Pearl's eye, she seemed to regain composure. Her physical form shuddered, and then, straightening herself up and wiping away the tear, she went to catch up with Steven and Amethyst.

"It's a spring," Garnet said. "A spring that your mother was very fond of. She and Pearl would go there often. It seems your lion _does_ know more than he's letting on."

"C'mon, let's go see what it means!" Steven said, jumping into the portal.

"Wait!" Pearl said, as she, Garnet, and Amethyst jumped through after him. As the final gem came through the portal, it suddenly closed behind them, replaced with stone and sky.

"Uh oh," Amethyst said, pointing to where there was no longer a magic lion portal. "Looks like we gotta find the warp pad."

"What were you thinking?" Pearl asked Steven.

"I was thinking that we might find the boy from my dream here!" Steven said. "Garnet said lion might know something, and he sent us here. I trust him."

Pearl, while somewhat reluctant, held her tongue, and Steven led the way as they travelled further away from where the portal had dropped them.

"If my memory serves, we just need to keep walking this direction and we'll come across the portal. It's just past the entrance to the fountain."

"Fountain?" Steven asked, turning around to walk backwards, causing his flip-flops to flap awkwardly. "What kinda fountain? Like a chocolate fountain?"

"It was your mother's fountain," Pearl said, with a wistful sigh.

"But gems don't even eat. Why would my mom want a chocolate fountain?" Steven asked, now confused.

"It wasn't a chocolate fountain," Garnet said, ruffling the boys hair, "it was a healing fountain."

Steven's eyes sparkled

"Healing fountain?" He said, mouth forming a wide 'O'. Amethyst laughed and shook her head, looking over to the other two to explain. Unsurprisingly, it was Pearl who took the helm on this one.

"Rose had the power to heal things that were sick or injured. Her tears were full of magical properties, so she stored them here, in her fountain," she said, seeming as if she might swoon. "Oh, it's simply teeming with her lacrimal, healing essence!"

Steven made a slightly perturbed face, and Amethyst suddenly stopped walking.

"Your mother's healing tears were instrumental during the Gem War. We were outnumbered, but our soldiers could fight on far longer than the invaders from Homeworld," Garnet said.

"Guys," Amethyst said.

They all stopped, turning to where Amethyst was standing. She pointed off, away down one o the splintering pathways that led further through the spring. Pearl followed her pointing finger, and before Steven could do the same, Garnet had suddenly wrapped her arms around him, scooping him up and making a dash for a nearby rock formation. Steven lurched in her grip, and as they suddenly came to a stop, the burgundy gem shielding his body with her own, he looked up in surprise.

"What's-"

Garnet looked down at him and pit a finger to her lips. Steven went silent. By this point, Pearl and Amethyst had also found cover, and Pearl was peeking ove the edge of a nearby boulder.

"How many?" Amethyst muttered.

"Maybe… 10?" Pearl said, equally quiet, eyes laser focused on whatever she was watching.

"Human?" Amethyst asked. Pearl grimaced, causing Amethyst's eyes to widen slightly. "... Pearl?"

"I… I can't tell, they're all wearing armor. " Pearl said. Then, she gulped. "Galra armor."

Garnet's grip on Steven slightly tightened. The boy looked up at her worriedly.

"What's Galra armor?" He asked.

"The Galra are aliens," Garnet said, "dangerous ones. They aren't a problem anymore."

"Or so we thought," Amethyst muttered. "How long's it been? 50 years?"

"It doesn't matter," Pearl said, "they're guarding the entrance to the fountain. What are they doing here?"

"Maybe they found out about the healing fountain," Steven suggested. The other three gems suddenly turned to look at him. He blinked. "Uh, I mean. I know if my dad found out about a fountain of healing, he'd do anything to find it. He's always complaining about his back. I don't know if these guys are anything like my-"

Garnet clamped a hand over the boy's mouth, and nodded once to Amethyst and Pearl. They both reacted instantly, dashing off, ducked low. Seconds later, there were muffled grunts, and the sound of people hitting the ground. Garnet, then satisfied, let go of Steven, and he followed her as she rose and walked around the rock they were using as cover. Steven took note of the collapsed people wearing strange, chrome armor. They were crumpled in front of a glorious looking gate, clearly Gem in origin, that seemed to lead into a cave.

With a swift kick, Amethyst booted the helmet off of one of the collapsed guards, revealing a head of messy black hair. She looked over to Garnet and Pearl.

"Human," she confirmed.

"Woah," Steven said, putting his hands on his cheeks. "Human's with Galra tech?"

He wielded the word as if he knew all about the Galra, prompting Garnet to raise an eyebrow at him. He blushed a little, and took his hands off of his cheeks, trying to assume something like a serious stance. With a distortion of the air, he summoned the pink shield that was his signature weapon, and held it at his side. The message was clear: Steven was a Crystal Gem. He wanted to prove it.

"If Steven's right, there will be more inside," Garnet said. "Let's move quietly. We don't know how many more."

With that, the group got low, and began to sneak their way into the cavern. The hall they travelled was lit every so often by a burning torch, casting heavy, flickering shadows, easy for the gems and Steven to crouch in. There were several agonizing minutes of silence for Steven as he proved his mettle, and kept both pace and stealth with the others, having stored his flip-flops in Pearl's gemstone. Eventually, they began to hear voices down the hall, and Garnet put out a wide arm to stop the crew behind her. She signaled to listen.

"I don't know, you really think so?" A gruff adult male said.

"Lord Driscoll is no fool," a voice, more than likely from behind a mask, said. "The boy will not escape us for long. If our scouts don't find him, I'm sure his friend will squeal."

"That kid's not even gonna make it if you don't give him some food," a voice, a woman's, said. "How do you expect him to talk if he's hanging there mostly dead?"

As she mentioned the hanging boy, Steven's eyes widened, and in the dark, Amethyst and Pearl exchanged a look. Garnet said stock still, clearly concentrating intently. The conversation around the corner continued as the muffled voice grumbled low in his chest.

"Perhaps you are right," he said. "However, something tells me that this boy is still holding an ace. You think of a boy and imagine weakness… I've seen what lurks in his eyes."

Garnet turned to the gems, and whispered near-silently.

"On my signal, we rush in. There's only 3," she said.

"How do you-?" Steven started to say. Then, he grinned. "Oh, right. Futurevision."

"One, two-"

From somewhere deeper in the cave, there was a loud _crash!_ Then, the sounds of groaning metal, and finally, the sounds of combat. Around the corner, there were the sounds of confusion, and Garnet, reacting, wasted no time in vaulting herself forward and delivering a graceful kick to one of the guard's faces. The rest of the gems, assuming this was the signal, dashed in behind her. Steven took stock of where they had emerged.

They were on a roofed balcony that crowned a stone stairway, which spiraled its way to the ground floor of the cave. There, a massive pool of pale, pink water sparkled calmly, resting in a huge, carved basin. There were various armored guards sitting around in. Directly in front of them, stood two guards, one unconscious from Garnet's brick-heavy kick, and some kind of masked commander. His armor was bright crimson, in stark contrast with the rest of his chrome companions.

Steven decided that he was a priority target.

"Hyah!" Steven grunted, spinning and whipping his shield at the masked warrior full force.

The man (who had been staving off attacks from Pearl's spear with a blade of yellow energy) was caught by surprise, and the wide, pink disk collided squarely with his forehead, sending him reeling back, and then tumbling over the side of the balcony, falling with a heavy _Oof!_ On the floor below. Steven and Pearl ran over to the edge, and looked down at the man, and watched as he slowly began to pull himself up. Nodding at each other, they turned back to their companions.

"Well," Amethyst said, as she finished knocking out the other guard with her whip, "there goes the element of surprise."

The sounds of boots and battle cries rang out as the cavern came alive with chrome soldiers. As more mobilized and prepared to defend their makeshift base, a total of nearly thirty armed humans came pouring out of the cave, charging towards the stone staircase.

"I thought you said there were only 3!" Steven said.

"I was wrong," Garnet said, summoning her gauntlets with a blast of sound. "Now come on. We have to take the fight to them! If they box us in we're done for."

Without further command, the big, burgundy gem dashed forward, and, meeting with the lead warrior, proceeded to hit him in the jaw with a surprisingly swift left hook, sending him flying (and screaming) off of the side of the staircase. Then, she began to duke it out with the next soldier. The rest of the gems took note, and Amethyst rapidly morphed into a large, lavender bird, which Pearl mounted, placing her spear in her palm like a javelin. Before they took off, Pearl turned back to Steven.

"Be careful." is all she said. Then, the two gems took off, yelling battle cries as Pearl volleyed down light-spears from Amethyst's back.

As Steven watched, his heart began to race. Garnet was now fighting three men at once on the stairs, and they wielded strange, yellow technology. With a jolt of his heart, Steven noticed the sweat on Garnet's brow. She was fighting for her life. Likewise, the soldiers on the ground floor had brought out guns, and were firing crackling yellow projectiles at the aerial cavalry. Steven even heard one of them shout "Aim for the gems!" These were dangerous foes, and foes Steven had never fought before.

Steven started to panic. He started to break down. What could he do? What could he do? All of the Crystal Gems were going to poof, and then he'd be alone against them. How could he win? Then, he realized: _he_ was a Crystal Gem. As long as one of them still could fight, then there would always be a chance. Gritting his teeth, and readying his shield, Steven prepared to leap off of the balcony and do a superhero landing (something he had always dreamed of doing.)

However, just as Steven his running start, another crashing sound echoed from further in the cave, and what appeared to be the iron bars of some kind of cell door came flying into the fountain chamber. As Steven watched, a hulking monster emerged into view. It was a wretched chimera, an awful amalgamation of bits of different creatures. It possessed spiny, vestigial, insect wings, jutting fangs like those of an anglerfish, and various other near-indescribable parts. Despite its monstrosity, there was something familiar about it. A hand made of burning magma came flying out, unleashing a torrent of flame that engulfed several of the chrome soldiers, causing them to turn and flee or risk being melted alive in their suits.

The monster had changed the tides of the fight, but was it friend or foe? Judging by the way it was fighting the guards, Steven hoped it was friend. If not, that could be sorted out later. For now, had to help Garnet! As she was busy battling a horde of warriors at the foot of the stone staircase, the commander in red armor had snuck up behind her in the din of battle. He clutched a crackling yellow blade, and was inching closer and closer to Garnet's back!

"Garnet!" Steven shouted, moving without thinking and taking a long, leaping jump down the entire staircase, landing deftly behind the bigger gem. She glanced back once, but had to instantly turn around to block an incoming strike from a chrome warrior.

"Steven? What is it?"

_Clang!_

Steven deflected the yellow blade of the red commander with his shield, and sparks flew. The masked man growled beneath the mask, and Steven glared at the intimidating visage, trying to look determined. He wasn't.

"Steven!" Garnet said, blocking another strike. "Swap with me!"

"What?!"

"Bubble!"

Garnet then pivoted on her back, causing Steven to do the same. This brought Garnet face to face with the masked man, and Steven face to face with an entire horde of soldiers. They lashed forward with their weapons, but like Garnet suggested, he threw his arms up and summoned his pink defensive barrier, and the energy blades bounced harmlessly off. They barely made a crack. Steven, out of pure shock that he was still alive, laughed out loud, causing the guards to angrily begin wailing away on the impenetrable sphere, forgetting all about Garnet, who was now battling the masked man.

More importantly, however, distracting them from the incoming monster.

The chimeric monster came rumbling forward, roaring with an eerily human tone as it swung its hefty purple right arm, along with its secondary, but no less muscular, third arm. It cut swathes in the group that were attacking Steven, and fully drew their attention, just as the bubble was starting to become weakened. As they dashed off to fight the monster, Steven dropped the barrier with a hefty sigh, and then clutched his side, watching the warriors fight the monster. A part of its face looked almost humanoid, with fleshy lips, and dangling black hair, and even brown human eye. Looking at this sent a chill up Steven's spine as he realized what it all meant.

Somehow, this was the boy from his dream.

Which, perhaps, meant it was on their side, Steven reasoned. Pulling himself to his feet, he began to run towards the monster, much to Pearl and Amethyst's dismay.

"Steven, wait!" Cried Pearl, who had been observing from above. Amethyst dove down towards him, but in the process, was suddenly struck by a stray blast of energy. She warbled for a moment, speaking backwards, and then poofed, mid-air. Pearl rapidly reached through the dispersing fog, snatching up Amethyst's gem and clutching it close to her as she tucked herself in for the landing. The gem crashed hard to the ground, skidding across the stone tiles.

"Pearl!" Steven shouted, whirling as he saw the gems go down. As he was distracted, there was movement from the huge creature, and Steven was suddenly struck by a massive, blistering pain on the left side of his body. His perception was fuzzy, and for a moment, he thought he was still standing on the ground. However, he soon realized he was flying through the air.

Everything seemed to slow down. Glancing at himself, Steven realized he was heavily burned, up and down his arm. Plus, he felt deeply bruised. The pain was agonizing. As he soared through the chamber, he saw Garnet fighting the masked man at a snails pace. Pearl fending off soldiers, clutching Amethyst's gem in one hand. The monster reeling back as some kind of blinding, white-pink light suddenly engulfed the chamber. It was too bright… Steven had to squeeze his eyes shut-

_SPLASH!_

Steven was suddenly in water. He hit the surface on his back, and then began to sink. Oddly, passing the surface of the water didn't force his eyes to blink shut, and as he sunk further into the depths of whatever pool he had been thrown into, the distant lights of the cave began to tint deeper and deeper pink.

Was he… in the fountain? He realized, then, that the intense pain he had been feeling had vanished. Looking over to his arm, he saw the severe, dark red, blistering burns had vanished. His arm was fully healed. Steven blinked once. Then, someone began shouting above the surface of the water. A familiar voice. Who?

There was a low splash as someone plunged their hand into the water. Their hand grabbed for Steven's. It was smaller than his, and couldn't quite reach him. As Steven blinked hazily, the person plunged themself deeper into the water, now shoving their full face in, though the details were obscured by a cloud of floating, black hair. Whoever they were grabbed Steven by the hand, firmly, and suddenly he was being hauled up to the water's surface. For a moment he almost didn't want to go. It was quiet here. Soothing, unlike the chaos up above. However, his lungs screamed, and the person's hand insisted, and soon, Steven broke the surface of the fountain with a loud gasp.

"Ah! It's in my eyes! Oh, that smarts!" The person beside him said. Steven, drenched and hacking, turned to look at them.

To his surprise, he was looking into the soaking wet, winking face of Connie Maheswaren. She was wearing jeans and a t shirt, but slung over her back was some kind of big, pink… instrument case? No, Steven realized. A scabbard. And in her hand: an enormous, pink sword. Steven's mouth gaped open, and Connie grinned a little as he looked at her in confusion.

"You OK, Steven?"

Steven shook his head rapidly.

"What! No! How did you get here? You have to go, it's dangerous! Where did you even get that sword?!"

"You're telling me! I just _saved_ you!" Connie countered indignantly. "And I came on Lion. It um… Came out of his forehead."

"What?"

She jerked her thumb back towards the fight. Yet another newcomer had joined the fray, and now the pink Lion and Garnet were working together to battle the amalgam monster, while Pearl was dealing with the remaining knights. The red commander was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's…" Steven muttered.

His thoughts were interrupted as the lion was suddenly thrown across the room by a mighty blow from the monster. It made no sound, but flinched slightly as it slammed against the stone wall, and didn't move for a few moments, though it tried. That left Garnet and Pearl fighting. Pearl, one handed trying to protect Amethyst, was a disadvantage, and many of the temporarily defeated soldiers were now getting back up and reinforcing their comrades. Garnet, meanwhile, had her hands full battling the monster. Had she been running on fully capacity, it might have been no problem, but she had just duked it out with several waves of enemies, and she, too, was on her back foot.

That left Steven. He gulped, as, warily, he got to his feet. His leg was no longer burned, though he was haunted by phantom memories. Somewhat wobbly, the half-gem produced his shield with a warbling noise. He was about to take a tentative step forward, when he felt a steely hand on his shoulder. Turning, he looked to see Connie giving him a determined smile.

"Hey," she said, "you're not alone. I'm right here… Now let's beat these guys. I'm technically supposed to be at my kendo lesson."

Steven couldn't help but grin, and then nodded, putting his spare hand on her shoulder in turn. Their eyes locked, and full of fierce courage, the two of them began to glow. Seconds later, Stevonnie stood in the chamber, wielding both Steven's shield and the sword. With a familiar rush of confidence, they prepared to charge into battle.

The first thing they noticed was that they could see perfectly.

More than perfectly. They were lightning fast! Their reflexes were suddenly on tenfold! The unique fusion dashed into the fight, coming up on a few unsuspecting soldiers and dispatching them with two even strikes of the heavy, pink flat of the sword. As a few of the men gunning for Pearl took note of the incoming newcomer, they turned, energy blades at the ready to face them. Stevonnie just grinned.

A soldier dashed forward, lunging with their sword, and Stevonnie, gracefully, sidestepped, doing a small twirl on their toe, hair cascading over their shoulders as they swung the sword around and heavily dented the man's helmet, knocking him out. Then, they lobbed the shield forward, and it connected with one helmet, and then _ka-ding!_ Ricocheted and slammed firmly into another helmet, sending both soldiers reeling. Before they could recover, Stevonnie dashed in, hitting them both with a leaping double spin kick (assisted by Steven's floating powers) before catching the shield mid-air.

"Ya-hoo!" They cheered. "We can do action movie stunts!"

" _Steven?"_ Pearl suddenly said, from behind them.

"Um," Stevonnie said, turning around to face her, and delivering a casual riposte to a weak swing as they did. "Technically, it's… Stevonnie."

"You _fused?"_ Pearl asked incredulously. "With a _human?!"_

"Listen, we can talk about it later!" Stevonnie said, pointing towards Garnet. "Garnet needs our-"

 _Wham!_ There was a heavy noise as Garnet's fist finally got the better of the monster, connecting with his jaw and sending him spiraling to the floor. Garnet stood over him, then, and crossed her arms. The creature touched its jaw, and then looked to the floor shamefully.

" _What are you gonna do?"_ The monster said, surprising everyone with its speech. " _Torture me?"_

"No," Garnet said. "You were a prisoner here. I'm going to let you go."

The monster blinked, and so did Stevonnie.

" _What?"_

Garnet nodded.

"You're free to go," Garnet said.

The monster required no more encouragement, quickly dashing off up the stairs, with surprising speed for one its size, and vanishing outside of the cave. There was a bright glow from the fountain, then, as Amethyst quickly reassembled her physical form. She emerged from the murky pink waters, and sighed.

"Damn it!" She said, not bothering to censor herself. "I hate getting poofed. I feel all weak."

"I'm just glad you're alright," Pearl said. The two of them swapped an embarrassed glance, and then looked away. As they did, something caught Amethyst's eye, and she suddenly stifled a laugh with her hand. Pearl raised a quizzical eyebrow at her.

"Pearl, Pearl," the little purple gem snorted, pointing to where her gaze lay, "look at Garnet."

Some distance away, Stevonnie was looking sheepish as Garnet stood before them with the widest grin she had ever displayed, like she was a child who had just encountered her most favorite puppy. Taking note of this exchange, Pearl too, cracked a smile.

So she didn't know everything about Rose after all.


	7. When It Rains

**Author's Note:** _Hey again! Welcome back to another chapter! We're more than halfway through Steven 2 (only 3 chapters and an epilogue after this!) and I am thrilled to be close to unveiling what's next. More on that soon!_

_I think one of my favorite parts of writing for the DWU is getting to merge all of the universes together and try to get them to make sense with each other. What's your favorite thing about the DWU so far? What are you hoping to see more of? Let me know in the comments._

_Anyway, that's enough from me. Enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

**Chapter 7 - When It Rains**

After Garnet tied up and "disposed of" the soldiers, the gems set about searching the place, making sure no artifacts of Gem importance has been stolen or desecrated. Steven and Connie, meanwhile, unfused, and caught their breath. Connie was panting with exhilaration, though, and as she popped out of the unfolding glow of the fusion, she was giggling. Steven looked at her curiously.

"That was _crazy,"_ she said, "nothing like proper kendo. Like, not even close, but who cares?! We were so cool!"

"Yeah," Steven agreed, with a grin, her infectious giddiness still slightly present as the fusion's space magic faded. "When we threw the shield at the guy, and then kicked them-"

"In the face!" They both said in unison, bursting into laughter. As their laughter died down Steven briefly took on a somber face.

"I hope we didn't hurt them too badly," he said. Connie was about to try to console him, but his expression switched back to boyishness before she said anything. He sprang to his feet. "C'mon! Let's go see if we can find some weird alien stuff."

Connie nodded enthusiastically, and the two of them bolted off into the nearest tunnel. As they ran, Connie spotted a strange room, and slowed to a stop, pointing it out to Steven. The room was dimly light by some hanging blue crystal sconces, and on the back wall of the room was a stone pedestal. The light from one of the crystal torches beamed directly down onto this pedestal, casting an eerie blue glow onto the item that rested there. An ornate hand mirror. The two kids approached the mirror curiously. As they were about to pick it up and examine it, Steven cast a suspicious glance at Connie.

"Hey… How did you even spot this? You're not wearing your glasses."

Connie blinked. At first she had thought it was just her senses attuned by the adrenaline, or a residual effect of the fusion, but as patted her pocket she realized the truth. There, right where she had meticulously stowed them, were her lens-less glasses.

And she could see crystal clearly.

She shook her head in disbelief.

"Wait a minute, what the heck? I can see!"

"You can see?"

"Yes! Perfectly!"

Steven held out a thumb's up.

"How many fingers?"

"Steven, that's your thumb."

" _Woah!"_ Steven said, causing Connie to giggle. Then, the light went on in Steven's head. "Oh! The fountain! It's my moms, and its full of her… uh… lactose intolerance?"

"What?"

"Oh jeez, I don't remember what Pearl said. Basically, it's a healing spring," Steven explained. He held out his arm. "Right before you and Lion came in I was burnt really bad by the alien… guy. It threw me into the fountain, and by the time you dragged me out, I was fully healed."

"Of course… and I went in headfirst to get you out of the fountain," Connie said, nursing her still damp mass of hair. "That's… amazing! I can see! I can read books without getting that annoying migraine from the frames rubbing against my _temples!"_

Steven smiled, not understanding some of the words she was using in this context, but wanting to be supportive. However, as he smiled at his friend, there was a sudden strange compulsion in his mind. Like the sound of a crashing wave, from underwater. He, instinctually, turned to look at the mirror, awaiting him on the pedestal. Connie continued to talk at him, but she was far away,

Above the waves.

Steven walked towards the mirror, now, looking down, trying to catch a glimpse of his reflection. Without realizing it, he picked up the mirror, holding it up so that it better caught the light. Something about it was fascinating, and not only that, but called to him. He moved of his own accord, but ths sheer allure of the weeping siren's song he heard stopped him from thinking clearly. It was only when someone put a hand on Steven's shoulder firmly that he was jostled from his trance.

"Yo," Amethyst, who had just arrived, said. "You good, dude?"

"Um, yeah," Steven blinked, "what's up?"

Amethyst eyed the mirror suspiciously, and then looked at Connie, who was just looking at Steven, with concern on her face. Amethyst, too, looked to Steven then, and shook her head, jutting her thumb back towards the main chamber.

"Garnet and Pearl swept the place. G found some dangerous ritual scroll or something. Says she's gotta burn it back at the temple, so, we're heading back," she said. Then she gestured to the mirror. "What's that?"

Steven quickly stowed the mirror in his back pocket.

"Oh, it's nothing," he said, "it's just a styling mirror."

Amethyst was unimpressed, before Connie chimed in.

"Oh, come now Steven, you don't have to get all dolled up for _me,"_ she joked, putting on a weak, haughty accent. Steven held back a snort, but Amethyst's face split into a wide, unknowing grin.

"Yeah, OK, whatever, not my business," she said, shooting Steven an obvious wink and two finger guns. "But seriously, let's go. Garnet's sealing the door, and we need you to drive the lion."

* * *

A few days later, Steven found himself leaning against the window sill, looking out at the dreary grey sky as it poured down onto beach, twinging large swatches of the normally beige sand brown. Every so often, he glanced back towards the warp pad, but, every time, was disappointed, and turned back to stare out the window once more. The mirror lay on the window sill beside him.

Steven was waiting for Connie. When they had returned from the fountain, to Steven's dismay, Connie received a phone call from her Kendo instructor, saying that punctuality was a virtue, and that if she wouldn't bother showing up today, she may as well not bother showing up at all. Connie had been momentarily upset, however, Pearl had swooped in to save the day. She had recognized Stevonnie's natural prowess with sword play, and considering Connie's moderate prerequisite training, she was in a prime position to begin training.

Connie had accepted, and decided that, via the Gem's help (and Lion as a taxi, since he had grown apparently fond of her) she would come and attend sword lessons with Pearl instead of going to her scheduled kendo. If her mother found out… She didn't want to think about what would happen if Dr. Maheswaren found out.

She and Pearl had vanished beyond the temple door, and had been gone for almost an hour, leaving Steven to watch the rain come down. The mirror served as his company, and despite him having examined and tinkered with it thoroughly, it had not drawn on his mind again like at the fountain. It was a fancy mirror, though it sported one blemish. The fancy blue crystal that was embedded in the back of the mirror bore a crack. Steven gently traced a finger down the crack now, and a shiver went down his spine.

_ka...ka-bOOM!_

Loud, rumbling thunder suddenly exploded in the sky, rattling the old windows of the temple exterior and causing Steven to jump slightly. Then, realizing it was just the storm, he relaxed.

_Wham!_

The bathroom door flung open, and Steven was looking at a startled and confused looking Peridot. The small green gem's eyes bugged wide as she pointed accusatorily at Steven.

"What was that?" She demanded, as if he had been the source of the noise.

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb, Human-Quartz-Steven!" Peridot said, rattling off names. "The noise! It must have been the Cluster! We're doomed!"

Steven blinked, recovering from his initial confusion, realized what Peridot was talking about, and burst out laughing. This caused the alien to become even more irrationally upset, and she charged forward to scold Steven further.

"You fool! Don't make light of the situation," she said, "you have no _idea_ what kind of power the Cluster will have when it emerges!"

"Hey, hang on a sec, relax," Steven said, putting up his hands to show his lack of ill will. "It's just thunder."

Peridot squinted.

"Thun-der?" She echoed. Steven nodded.

"Right," he said, gesturing outside, "it comes with the storm."

"Ah, yes," she said, squinting at the rain sliding down the glass of the window. "The dihydrogen monoxide droplets that fall from your atmosphere are called... Storm?"

"Sort of," Steven laughed. "This is a storm, singular. They're what you call when it rains, and thunders, and lightnings."

"Lightning?" Peridot said.

On cue, there was a flash, and the grey of the sky was briefly lit up by a bluish purple streak that bolted across the sky. Peridot squinted in confusion at the light display, and then, barely seconds later: _ka-BOOM!_ Another round of thunder caused Peridot to instantly drop to the ground, throwing her arms above her head defensively and crying out in fear. However, when no harm came to her, and she noticed that Steven had hardly flinched, she slowly uncoiled. The rain continued.

"Thunder… is the sound of lightning?" Peridot said, and Steven could see the gears turning in her head. "And lightning is… that strange explosion in the sky. These are essential components to the 'storm'?"

Steven shrugged.

"Not really. Sometimes its just a _ton_ of rain. Sometimes there's fast winds. Wind is-"

"I know what _wind_ is!" Peridot snapped. Then, she paused. "What is 'rain'?"

Steven laughed again, and then stuck his tongue out in thought. An idea dawned on him, and he opened the window he was sitting it. Peridot was nervous at first, shying back as he did, but she watched as Steven simply smiled at the falling water, and stuck his hand out to greet it. A few drops got on his shirt, the window sill, and the mirror. It was probably a trick of the light, or a stray bolt of lightning, but for a second, Peridot thought she saw the mirror glow faintly. However, she was more intrigued by the rain. Tentatively, she walked closer to Steven. Then, she leaned gently on the window sill, and reached out with one hand to let the drops land in her palm.

As soon as the rain hit her hand, sparkles jumped in Peridot's eyes.

"A storm could even be made of snow, which is frozen rain."

"It falls like glass shards and kills humans?" Peridot said, still entranced by the rain. Steven felt a bit strange about how hopeful she sounded. He shook his head.

"Uh, no," he said, "snow is soft, and cold, and melts in your hand or on your tongue. It gathers up on the ground, and if there's enough of it, you can make a snow man. That's where you roll up a big ball of snow and put a carrot in it."

"Why a carrot?"

"I don't know," Steven said. Peridot blinked, as she took a moment to process all of the information. Then, she pressed her hands together in an awkward gesture, turning to Steven.

"Thank. You. Steven Quartz,"

"You can just call me Steven," Steven interrupted. Peridot made an annoyed face, but continued.

"Thank you, _Steven._ You have enlightened me on things like "thunder" and "rain." It puts my mind at ease, for now, at least… In return, I will share with you some information. However, before I do… I have a favor to ask."

Steven's heart began to race. Peridot was going to tell him about the cluster. It was time for him to do something useful, on his own, like a real Crystal Gem. Gulping down his jitters, he nodded.

"What's the favor?"

"After I refused to communicate the… _Pearl,_ confiscated my recording device. It's bad enough to not have my limb enhancers and my actual data slate, but that piece of barbaric human tech was the only thing keeping me sane in that disgusting bat-room," Peridot said, butchering the pronunciation of "bathroom." Steven decided he wouldn't correct her. There was a time and a place for everything.

"You want your tape recorder back?" Steven said. He wagered the odds, and found himself certain that the gems would forgive him going back on their punishment if it meant they gained some insight on what the Cluster was, and how they might stop it. "Sure. Do you know where they put it?"

Reproachfully, Peridot pointed towards the kitchen. Following her direction, Steven looked as well, and saw that she was indicating the refrigerator. The top of the refrigerator. Looking back at the humbled Peridot, Steven was beginning to struggle to see how she had been the same, bloodthirsty gem that had tried to throw him off of a cliff a couple months ago. With a warm smile, he walked over to the fridge and, with a little boost from his super powers, jumped up to get a good look at what resided on top of the fridge. A stale box of donuts, a Dave-Guy figurine, and- bingo. The tape recorder.

Steven snatched the tape recorder up and floated back to the ground before flip-flopping over to Peridot and holding the device up in one hand. She reached for it, but Steven held out the other hand to stop her.

"Hold on, Peridot," he said. "First, tell me what the Cluster is."

Peridot's manic expression warped to annoyance once more. She sighed. That had been the deal after all.

"Fine," she said. She sat on the couch, pulling her knees up and resting her chin on them. "We'll all be shattered before your clod caretakers can stop it, anyway. So, where to begin? The cluster is, functionally, a gargantuan synthetic amalgam."

"What?"

Peridot snatched up a nearby piece of paper and a crayon, and began furiously scribbling a diagram. As she did, she seemed to groan about the size of her hand, even uttering a frustrated "stupid touch stumps!" at one point after dropping the crayon. Eventually, though, she produced an image for Steven to observe. The Earth.

"This is Colony Terra. Your planet. "Earth" as you call it. You've been kept safe from most intergalactic contact because after the Gem War, most of the galaxy thought life had been wiped out here. Only recently, during the Galra War, and before that, the Etherian Uprising, did the other peoples of the universe even remember you measly humans _exist_."

"Get back to the Cluster," Steven said, his pride in his human half a little wounded.

"Right. So if this is your planet," she made a few more marks, indicating some kind of large jagged circle, inside of the drawing of Earth. It was huge, taking up a large portion of the east coast of the United States. Steven gulped. "This is the cluster."

"It's a big egg?"

"It is not an egg," Peridot said gravely, "but your comparison has some deadly reality. The cluster… is a geo-weapon."

Steven's jaw dropped.

"There were several prototypes before the final product was placed into the planet. You've encountered the Phase 2 prototypes. The small ones that have been roaming around, recently. There was also an initial phase of testing done on the planet's moon. That was Cluster Prime. However, it never panned out, and the gems of the time had to go back to the drawing board. It's quite fascinating, and it's unfortunate that the Crystal _Clods_ haven't been teaching you the history of your people."

Steven's face was grim, now. He agreed. He wished they would tell him more too. Did they just not know? Shaking those thoughts away as they wormed their way in, Steven grit his teeth and tried to remain focused on the task at hand.

"So, you're saying, the monsters that Garnet talked about. The one's at the Kindergarten… They're fusions?"

"Hardly. They're a synthetic attempt at replication… Barbaric, for today's standards, but effective if you consider their final product," Peridot said. She began scribbling again. "When it emerges, the Cluster will be so large that it will tear a hole into the side of your planet, causing everything on it to suffer a swift, explosive death."

Steven stared down at the fire and skulls that Peridot was now maniacally drawing on the sketch of Earth, and he suddenly felt weak in the knees.

"How do we stop it?"

Peridot instantly stopped drawing.

"We can't," she said. "Not unless humans suddenly advance 400 years in both metallurgy _and_ energy production. We'd need some kind of burrowing machine to get down to where the Cluster is buried. However, even then, nobody but the strongest gem could stop it. We'd need the help of a Diamond."

Steven looked defeated. He handed the tape recorder to Peridot, and slumped down on the sofa, with his face in his hands.

"So… That's it? We lose?" He said. "We just sit around and wait for the planet to explode?"

Peridot looked at the strange being, the boy named Steven, and once again, she _felt_ something. She didn't try to shake it away this time, despite how uncomfortable it made her, and she actually went forward to try and place a hand on Steven's shoulder.

"Um… If it makes you feel better. It will be a swift and painful death."

Steven couldn't help but laugh and shake his head incredulously.

"It really does not make me feel better."

Silence ensued, with only the sound of the storm from the open window filling the space. The two gems sat in a depressed quiet. Peridot glanced at Steven a few times, but the boy was lost in thought. Then, beneath the sound of the rain, Peridot heard something else. A faint, pulsing noise. Then, something like… words? She craned her head around, looking for the source. Then, she found it: the open window.

She began to walk towards it, and, to her surprise, she saw that the rain was forming a strange pattern around the window. None of the drops would fall within about a foot of the window sill, leaving an odd dry section on the deck. The pulsing noise was loud, now, and as she continued to examine the area, Peridot found the answer.

The mirror.

"Steven?" She said. The boy looked up. She held the mirror up so he could see.

Then, the glass portion of the mirror, began to warp. It rippled and moved, as if it were made from mercury or some other liquid. Then, it started to emit a sound. The ripples in the mirror seemed to move in tandem with the words the mirror began to emit.

" _Steven… Peridot…"_ The mirror said, replicating their voices and intonations. " _Help…"_

The two of them stood in stunned silence for a second, swapping glances between each other and the speaking mirror. Steven suddenly went pale as he remembered the cracked gem in the back of the mirror.

" _Help…"_

"... Log date. 002."


	8. Mirror Gem

**Author's Note:** _Hey again! Welcome back to another **LATE-NIGHT-CHAPTER** tm._

_We're here with more Steven, and we're finally getting a look at Lapis Lazuli! Obviously, she's having a bit of a different introduction in this story. What do you think of my take on her? Thanks for tuning in, and enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

**Chapter 8 - Mirror Gem**

Steven was sitting on the couch, examining the mirror when Pearl and Connie re-emerged from Pearl's room. By that time, Peridot had retreated into her bathroom, but had left her crayon diagrams on the coffee table, beside the mirror.

"-must say, Connie, your reflexes are exceptional. It was only your first lesson, but I really think you'll make for a talented swordfighter," Pearl finished saying, as they walked out, both carrying duffel bags over their shoulders. Connie drank from a water bottle. She looked flushed, like she had been exercising heavily, but she also looked like she was riding an adrenaline rush.

"Thanks Pearl! I just can't believe you're giving me lessons for free!" She said, turning to her friend on the couch. "Hey, Steven."

At that point, they both took note of the debris on the table, and the open window despite the storm. Pearl looked to the boy quizzically.

"Steven? Um. What are you doing?" She asked. Steven glanced up from the mirror.

"Oh, hey Pearl, hey Connie. I'm just, uh," he fumbled for an explanation as Pearl came over and began to sift through the drawings that Peridot had left.

"What are these…?" She said. Connie came over as well, glancing once to the mirror and then to Steven. She still didn't know what his fascination was with that thing.

"Is this…" Pearl said. "Did Peridot draw these?"

Steven gulped.

"Yes, but let me explain!" He started to say.

At that particular moment, the warp pad chime sounded, and Garnet and Amethyst appeared. Curious about the gathering at the coffee table, the two gems joined in, and Steven gulped harder, a bit of sweat forming on his forehead.

"What is that?" Garnet asked, clearly talking about the mirror.

"Oh, yeah," said Amethyst, realizing it was Garnet's first time seeing the trinket. "That's Steven's _styling_ mirror, right dude?"

Steven gave her an uncomfortable smile as she completely misread the situation, and then instinctively picked up the mirror, clutching it tight in his hand. Something made him want to protect it, even if he had no logical reason to feel that way. Garnet noted this. So did Connie.

Pearl noticed the gemstone.

"Oh-" she said, eye's bugging out and a hand covering her mouth in disgust. "What the- Steven… Hand me the mirror. It's… We have to bubble it!"

Garnet raised an eyebrow, and Steven pulled the mirror closer to himself. An exterior sense of anxiety washed over him as he did so. It wasn't his own.

"Hang on," Steven said.

"Steven?" Garnet prompted.

"It's not what you're thinking!" Steven blurted. "She's OK!"

"She?" Amethyst said, her expression turning sick.

Steven looked desperately down to the mirror, cupping it in both hands and whispering to it frantically.

"Show them," he said, "show them. What you showed me… I want to help. I promise."

There was a moment of bated breath, as the quartet gathered around Steven watched in confused anticipation. For a nerve-wracking moment nothing happened, and a lump began to form in Steven's throat. Then, the surface of the mirror began to ripple and glow.

" _Steven…"_ the mirror uttered. " _Help…"_

Amethyst took a step back.

"Woah."

Pearl shook her head.

"Steven, hand it over. I'm bubbling i-"

"No!" Steven said, suddenly scrambling up and dashing to the doorway, his back to the exit. "She needs help! We can heal her! Take her back to the spring."

"Steven! Calm down," Garnet said, a bit too aggressively.

"That's so… wrong…" Amethyst said.

"We can heal her!" Steven repeated.

"We've tried!" Pearl said. "We've... tried everything. You don't think that was the first place we went after the blast? They… They don't come back."

Steven blinked, furrowing his brow in confusion. Connie too looked to Pearl for further explanation.

"The… blast? What are you talking about?" He said.

Pearl realized she had said more than she intended, and couldn't bear to look Steven in the eyes, instead looking at her feet as she recalled the traumas of war.

"Why won't you tell me anything?" Steven demanded further, anger slipping into his voice. "You're always hiding something! Where did the centipeedle when I was 12? What's the blast? Why did mom give up her physical form? Why won't Pearl talk to Dad? Why did you go through all the trouble of putting on this big test if it didn't change anything! You still treat me like a little kid!"

With the final word, Steven realized he had squeezed his eyes shut in frustration, and as he opened them he realized that the gems and Connie had taken a couple of steps back, to distance themselves from him. He looked at them, confused, and then he heard the low, crashing, pulsing noise. Glancing down at the mirror, he realized that the door had flung open, and the storm was now crashing down behind him, causing the entire entry to become soaked with water. Water centered, seemingly, on the glowing mirror. Tentatively, Garnet took a step forward.

"Please, Steven," she said, holding out a hand. "Just… give me the-."

"No!" Steven said, taking a step back. Garnet grit her teeth. This time, she walked forward surprisingly quickly, and didn't ask. Instead, she simply reached for the mirror with a large hand. Steven flinched, throwing out a hand to stop her, and to Amethyst and Pearl's shock, actually slapped her across the face. The fusion's reflective shades clattered to the floor, and Steven instantly knew that he had made a mistake.

When Garnet turned back to Steven, all three of her eyes were creased with anger.

"Enough!" She said, lunging forward again.

_p-TONG!_

She collided with a solid pink barrier. Steven had summoned the bubble.

"Why won't you trust me?!" Steven demanded.

Growling, Garnet reared a fist back to punch through the bubble, but Steven chose that moment to swiftly dismiss the energy, with enough force to actually send Garnet stumbling backwards slightly. This left the other three's mouths agape. Steven's eyes widened, then, and with a panicked noise he went dashing down the stairs, into the rain, and down towards the beach. Pearl looked to Garnet, who snatched up her sunglasses and glared out the door.

"Oh, I am about up to _here_ what that boy," she said.

Outside, Steven glanced down at the mirror as he ran.

"I don't get it! You're not bad. You're not a gem monster! Why do they want to bubble you?" He asked.

" _Steven… Steven…"_ the mirror wailed, in a variety of warbled voices. " _Help me- Steven… Help."_

"I'm trying! How do I help? What do I do?" Steven cried. He had reached the shoreline, and he realized that the sea had turned dark and tumultuous, crashing wave after towering wave onto the beach. As they retreated towards the heart of the ocean, some of the water lingered, and seemed to snake unnaturally up to meet Steven's toes.

" _Free…. Me…. Steven…"_ the mirror said.

"Free you? How?" Steven said. Then, with a sinking feeling, he remembered the gemstone once more. He turned the mirror over, and felt a shudder of anticipation emit from the magical relic. As the rain poured down on the back of the mirror, Steven gently reached towards the gem inlaid there.

" _STEVEN!_ "

Garnet's voice jostled Steven before his fingers could reach the gem. She was pounding across the sand, hellbent on reaching him. As she approached, a particularly massive wave blew in from the sea, towering easily 12 feet in height. Somehow, it split down the center, completely avoiding Steven, before reforming and pouring tons of gallons of force down on an unsuspecting Garnet. The large gem went down under the pressure, and as the wave receded it revealed her on her back, coughing up sea water.

A pang of guilt ran through Steven, and he quickly went back to the task at hand, apologizing to Garnet in his head as he tried to get a handle on the gem. It was deeply stuck to the mirror, and at first, due to the slickness of the rain and the smoothness of the gemstone, his fingers slipped on the surface. However, after a couple tries he managed to find purchase, and with no time to spare as Garnet was picking herself up off the ground. Moments before she would have come upon him and easily overpowered his grip on the mirror, there was an ever-so-faint _click_ as Steven tucked the gemstone free.

_ka-BAAAMFF!_

A massive explosion of white smoke shook the beach, launching the encroaching Garnet and even the more distant Amethyst and Pearl to the sand from its sheer force. Then, there was a bolt of lightning and a crack of thunder, and the smoke began to clear under the force of the storm. It was revealed that Steven, too, had been tossed aside by the force of the blast, and lay on the ground nearby. Where the half-gem had been standing now stood another being.

She was a gem, that much was clear by her pastel blue skin, the navy locks that cascaded messily down her forehead, and the shimmering light-quality to the odd, alien sundress she wore. Similarly to Peridot's attire, the neck of the dress formed something akin to a V-shape, ending in a small, blue rhombus. Her feet were bare, but more strangely, her eyes were a dull, shimmering grey. Like mercury. Like the glass of the mirror.

The Crystal Gems, minus Steven, had now recovered, and were taking stock of the strange gem. Connie watched from the balcony. There was a dangerous sounding splash as two long, skeletal wings formed form pure water began stretched out from behind the blue newcomer. She didn't quite look at the gems, despite her stance clearly facing them. Amethyst looked confused.

"OK, hang on." she said, summoning her whip with a flash. "Refresh my memory, P. What kinda gem is this?"

Pearl grimaced, and with a blast of sound, she and Garnet drew their weapons as well.

"A Lapis Lazuli," Pearl said. "Homeworld terraformers."

"Eyes up. That crack in her gem makes her unpredictable. She might do something irrational." Garnet said.

"I told him we needed to bubble her!" Pearl complained, mostly to herself. "Stubborn human boy."

There was a _flap_ , and the Lapis' water wings began to take her into the sky. Not on Amethyst's watch. With a crack of her ever-extending spiked whip, she caught the ankle of the escaping gem and tugged, hard, causing her to drop dramatically. She barely seemed to notice, eyes still focused on the sky as she flapped to no avail. Then, Pearl rushed in with her spear, delivering a battle cry as she aimed directly for the mass of the gem's physical form, aiming to disperse it. A wave came crashing in, diverting the sleek gem and knocking her back. Then, it was Garnet's turn, and as she came in with a wrecking ball punch, it seemed they had finally warranted the strange gem's attention.

She whirled around, suddenly, with enough force to stagger Amethyst, temporarily allowing the Lapis free flight. Then, as Garnet leapt forward to deliver her strike, the blue gem stared directly at her behind glassy eyes and gave an anguished screech, before clapping her hands together. As she did this, a massive pair of arms were suddenly formed form the ocean, and mirror her movements, trapping Garnet in a watery prison. This had diverted the Lapis' attention however, allowing for Pearl to launch her spear like a javelin at her.

Caught by surprise, the water arms suddenly released their hold on the struggling Garnet, and instead whirled in to become a wall of water, protecting Lapis easily from the incoming projectile, which sank into the water harmlessly. There was a flash of white-purple light, and then a screeching noise as a terrifying lavender griffon, half lion and half giant bird, tore through the air, flying towards the Lapis. She got close, but again that impenetrable barrier appeared, and Amethyst's battle cry quickly became surprised gargling as she was tossed aside in a wall of water. With that taken care of, Lapis turned back to deal with the next threat that was-

_TH-wam!_

The blue gem was caught completely blindside by a solid, direct punch from Garnet, swelling her cheek and sending her flying away back, the ocean blasting aside in a path as she launched back. For a moment the Lapis simply flew, stunned, staring up at the cloudy sky, before she seemed to regain control. With a mighty flap of her water wings, she suddenly righted herself, hovering where was was, several dozen meters out onto the open sea. There was brief stalemate, then, as none of the gems dared approach the thunderous rampart that was the very ocean itself.

The Lapis seemed to acknowledge this, and, without only a moment of hesitation, was gone, soaring away into open grey sky, leaving the defeated gems on the beach below.

As soon as she was gone, Connie came flying down the steps, running over to the dazed Steven, who slowly was puling himself to a sitting position. He rubbed his head, and squinted as he watched the blue shape of the gem grow smaller and smaller. He rose to wobbly knees, and, supported by Connie, walked over to the gems.

"We have to go after her!" He said.

"I've had _enough_ of thi-" Garnet started to say.

"Well, just- Damn, like, wait a second, G!" Amethyst finally cut in. "We're all processing here! None of us know what's going on, least of all Steven and I… I'm starting to get what he means about not knowing anything. If I were in that position, and I _have been,_ I would feel like crap too! Clearly he had a point about this thing- it's not like the other gem monsters we've fought. It thinks, and it talks… kind of. And, frankly, it looks like a real gem. Maybe there's a real chance we could heal her. If we don't try… What are we even doing?"

She went and stood beside Connie and Steven, and the latter's eyes were filled with pride and appreciation as he looked upon Amethyst standing up for him. He gave her a grateful smile, and she shrugged like it was nothing, before crossing her arms and facing the other two gems, waiting for them to spill the beans. Pearl sighed, and Garnet simmered a moment longer, before letting her gauntlet's disappear.

"Perhaps you're right, Amethyst," Pearl said. "Perhaps this gem is able to be saved… and perhaps we _have_ been a bit tight lipped. Steven… deserves to know where he comes from, at the very least."

Steven's heart soared, and then all eyes were on Garnet, who was clearly conflicted. Pearl came over to her cautiously, placing a hand on her arm. Garnet didn't resist, but remained unmoved, and spoke to her in a quiet tone.

"There was a time where a gem like her wouldn't have hesitated to shatter us under the pressure of planet's sea," she said. "Just for being fused. Even if we can heal her… We're supposed to believe she's is capable of being saved?"

Pearl pursed her lips.

"I think… I think we have to. Rose-"

"Would say of course she can. She was all about this sort of thing. She'd say "anybody who learns the truth will turn to the right side. Its only a matter of time.", and then go convert an entire crew of Citrines… Or a Bismuth," Garnet said ruefully. She and Pearl shared a quiet moment. "Rose wouldn't have hesitated… Yet, i am."

Pearl didn't say anything, but gave Garnet a reassuring squeeze on the arm. After an age of silence, Garnet composed herself, and turned to address the others, who were waiting for a response.

"You're right, Steven. We've kept far too much from you. I promise, we will tell you everything: about Homeworld, about Rose. All of it." she said. Watching Steven's expectant expression, she continued. "However, for now… We're going after the Lapis. If there's a chance we can help her, we have to try."

Steven and Amethyst grinned, and Connie did too, though her attention was quickly seized by a buzzing from her duffel bag. With a groan, she reached into it and produced her phone, answering with a curt "yes mother?" followed by several further "yes mothers" and then a final "no mother" before she bit her lip and winced. Muffling the phone with her hand, she turned to the group.

"Um… I need somebody to pretend to by my kendo instructor," she said.

Then, the roar of a car engine caught all of their attention, and soon a pair of headlights blinding all of them as the rolled across the beach. Steven threw an arm up to shield his eyes, and even after the bright lights had been turned off, he was seeing spots. It was only when the man grew closer and spoke above the fading storm that he could make out his identity.

"Hey, is everybody OK? I came as soon as I heard that crazy explosion! What's going on?" Greg asked. Steven quickly ran forward and gave him a hug, which he reciprocated, glancing nervously to the other gems for an explanation. Instead, he received a flip phone.

"You're my kendo instructor and everything is fine, we're just running late." Connie said.

"Wha-? Wait a minute, what is kendo? Is that like yoga?"

"Just go with it!"

Bewildered, Greg brought the phone slowly up to his ear. Egged on by the silent pleading of Connie, he made an uncomfortable face, and began to speak.

"Uh… Hello? This is… Sensei Greg?"


	9. Chille Tid

**Author's Note:** _The Calm Before the Storm..._

_That's what this chapter is! It's the penultimate chapter of Steven Universe 2! Enjoy!_

* * *

**Chapter 9 - Chille Tid**

As Jasper trudged through the pine forest, the last thing she expected to see was a completely dried up stream. She raised an eyebrow, glancing down to the muddy chasm that seemed to split the forest apart. From a glance, it had seemed like it could have been dug manually. However, she recognized the algae and moist rocks: staples of this planets flowing waterways. She knew this stream, too. Her built in survival instincts told her that it flowed out from a larger river she had camped by, farther north.

Which meant something had dried it up.

Her attention peaked, the hulking orange gem jumped down into the bed of the streamway, and began to walk along it. She hoped that, eventually, it would lead her to whatever was the cause of this. Luckily for Jasper, she was right. The muddy path eventually gave way to a massive basin, what was probably once a lake. The actual water had, like the river, seemingly vanished with no trace. However, as she scanned the horizon line, Jasper suddenly realized where it had all gone.

Looming in the distance, at the center of the lake, was a rippling tower of water.

* * *

After he sweatily dealt with Dr. Maheswaren, Greg had handed the phone back to Connie, who gave one final "yes mother" followed by "see you soon" before closing the flip phone with an exasperated sigh.

"I don't know how many more times I can do that," she and Greg had said at the same time.

"Do you need to go home?" Pearl asked.

Connie had shook her head.

"I want to help. My mom thinks the lesson's running late… Well then, let's let it run late."

"Good," Garnet had said, admiring the fire in her eyes. "Just remember that if it gets dangerous, you and Greg need to get in the van and leave."

"Wait why'd you say _my_ name?"

Garnet had turned to Greg with a slight smile.

"You're the driver."

It was decided that, because of Lapis' flight pattern, it would be easier to simply follow her aura in the van, like stormchasers, rather than hop from warp to warp and risk losing track of her altogether. The gems decided that one of them would need to stay behind and guard Peridot, and Amethyst drew the short straw. She was still weak from being poofed at the fountain. With grim acceptance, she wished them luck and went inside.

So, the rest of them piled into Greg's van. He was driving, and Garnet sat in the back, with both of the kids. That left one spot open. Pearl paused at the side of the van, and then glanced once to Garnet, who seemed to be unaware. The kids, however, saw the ghost of a smile on her face. With a sigh, Pearl got into the passenger seat, and strapped herself in without a word. A Greg awkwardly turned on the engine, and adjusted the mirrors, Steven and Connie swapped glances.

Then, they began to drive.

For the first few miles, it was completely silent.

Greg focused on the road. Pearl leaned her head against the window, silently watching the raindrops fall on the glass. Garnet seemed almost in meditation, her eyes hidden behind her reflective lenses. Steven and Connie sat across from each other. He glanced at her, as she was staring out the back window of the van. She had an eerie aura of confidence about her. It was clear that she was growing stronger, as much as he was, just in different ways.

Connie turned to notice Steven ogling her.

"What?" She asked.

As Steven opened his mouth to respond, the stereo suddenly crackled to life. The van was suddenly filled with static as Greg fiddled with the dial. He switched between various stations, a few of which were playing the exact same pop song. Both he and Pearl groaned at the same time when he flipped the channel only to find a lower quality version of the same tune. Greg glanced at her with a chuckle.

"Ya know what, I'll just put in a tape," he said, switching the stereo's channel.

Before he could insert a track, however, a song began to play. It was a low, strumming guitar riff. Greg's eye's immediately lit up when he heard it, and Pearl seemed to take not as well. Garnet shifted slightly into a more comfortable position.

"Is this-?" Pearl started to say.

" _Some,"_ Greg sang along to the track, cutting her off, " _say I have no direction._ "

"It is," Pearl snorted.

" _That I'm a lightspeed distraction. Well that's a knee jerk reaction,"_ Greg continued to sing.

In the back seat, Connie and Steven were jamming out. Steven knew this song. It was one of his dad's old jams, and one of Steven's favorites. It filled his heart to see Connie enjoyed the music as well, and even Garnet nodded her head slightly to the beat.

" _Still… This is the final frontier. Everything is so clear. To my destiny I steer,"_ Greg tried to coax Pearl into joining him, glancing over at her as he sang. She kept her head stationary against window. " _This life in the stars is all I've ever known… Stars and stardust and infinit-"_

The stereo suddenly switched off, and the tape ejected onto the floor. Garnet stopped bopping her head. Greg's singing quickly died out, as he glanced over to Pearl. She had, deftly and apathetically, ejected the tape, without ever looking at Greg. Steven gulped. Greg just shook his head incredulously, and then turned to keep his eyes on the road, his knuckles turning white on the steering wheel. For a moment he tried to keep his words down, but eventually they exploded out of him. He slammed on the breaks, skidding the van to a stop.

"What? _What,_ Pearl? I don't get it," he said. "I'm trying to lighten the mood. I- I'm driving you after some magical gem storm! I let you take my kid on _secret missions,_ just trying to earn a little trust. And what do I get? Nothing! The cold shoulder."

Pearl crossed her arms.

"Do you blame me? Is that it?" Greg continued. "Is it? Because I'm sorry, but I loved Rose, OK? How could I have known she was going to-"

"Of course you couldn't have known!" Pearl snapped. "You're a _human!_ Don't you get it? Humans and Gems don't-"

"Pearl," Garnet interrupted.

"No, no!" Greg said. "Go on. Don't what, Pearl? Don't belong together? Say what you were gonna say!"

At this point Pearl just shut off even more, turning herself away from Greg and falling silent once more. Greg just stared at her, as if he couldn't believe it. The kids were looking on strenuously. A tense silence hung, as rain fell heavily on the roof of the van. The windshield wipers went back and forth. Greg finally let out a sigh, and leaned back in his seat.

"Fine," he said. "There's more important things at hand. I get it."

With that, he put the car back in drive, and there was silence once more.

* * *

As she approached the churning, impossible display, Jasper squinted up. She could see a figure at the top. It was humanoid, but certainly no human. A gem? Maybe. She circled the base of the water spire, but found it liquid on all sides. Nothing to climb on. With a sigh of temporary resignation, she stepped back, and called up to the figure standing atop the suspended lake.

"Hey," she called, "who are you? What are you doing?"

The figure didn't even turn to look at her, but a fist made of animate water suddenly came flying out of the side of the pillar, landing a punch square on Jasper's jaw, causing her to stumble back. She squinted.

"Oh, OK," she growled, "you want to fight, huh?"

This time, the figure turned slightly to look down at her. She had strange, glassy eyes. Jasper grimaced.

" _Just… Go… AWAY!"_ The strange gem said, her voice layered and hollow. The water fist lunged forward again, but Jasper easily sidestepped it, and now turned her confused squint up towards the gem.

She had spoken. That was, at least, a reassuring sign, never mind the word she said. Batting away the persistent aquatic hand, Jasper called up to her again.

"You're from Homeworld right? Who did that to you?" She said, gesturing to the cracked gemstone she had gotten full view of, with the gem's back turned to her.

The blue gem (a Lapis Lazuli, Jasper had recalled) turned away again. Now, the arm gave rise to a full body, formed in a mirror of Jasper's own. Seeing the water clone, she grinned, and cracked her knuckles. Then, they both threw heavy punches, their fists connecting causing a resounding vibration to wobble up the entire water grinned wider, and with a few well placed strikes, broke through the feeble clone's guard and smashed it into droplets. She never broke a sweat.

"Let me take a guess," she continued, as if never interrupted. "Those rebels. The fusion, the Pearl, the other one… The human boy."

Lapis seemed to stop, then, and Jasper's smug sense of satisfaction was soon swept away by the swift and sudden splash of the spire collapsing. Lapis simply let the tower fall back into a lake, washing away Jasper in the process. Then, with no regard for her pride, Jasper was spat out onto a rapidly emerging platform of hard water, where Lapis loomed over her. Jasper pulled herself to a kneel, and looked up at her expectantly.

"I was right, wasn't I?" She said. The Lapis was silent. "I know what they're like… They hurt gems. I can't stop them alone."

She held out a hand to the injured Lapis, who regarded it for a long, drawn out moment.

* * *

Greg gave a yawn as he pulled into the truck stop. Pearl looked a bit miffed as they slowed to a halt, and when they did stop, Garnet seemed to suddenly snap back to the present.

"What happened?" She asked. "Did we find her?"

"No, but it's time for a break," Greg said, rubbing his weary face. "I can't drive anymore... "

"The storm stopped a few kilometers away," Pearl added, "looks like she's stopped moving."

Garnet looked over to Steven and Connie, both of whom had fallen asleep at this point, leaning against her legs. With a solemn nod, she confirmed that they would indeed be resting for the night. Pearl got out of the car, and walked over to a secluded tree by the roadside. As she left, Greg sighed. Garnet, without turning to look at him, spoke in his direction.

"She's not as forgetful as the rest of us," she said. "For her, the wound still feels fresh. She can see her face in her mind."

"Yeah, so can I," grumbled Greg, his forehead against the steering wheel. He sighed. "Oh, Rose… If only I could talk to her. She'd know how to get Pearl to open up."

Garnet laughed even harder, and had to calm herself down as she gently jostled the children laying in her lap. Greg laughed too, though he didn't quite get it.

"Oh, Greg," she said. "Yes she would… Pearl knows its more complicated than just how she feels. Its just easier for her to blame somebody."

"I know. I just hate that it's me," Greg said. Garnet leaned her head back slightly, still smiling.

"Good. That means you still want to make things better," she said. "If you didn't feel bad about it… that'd be the end of it, right?"

There was silence, as the crickets chirped into the night, and then Greg shifted around and looked back at Garnet, shaking his head.

"You're uncanny, you know that, Garnet?" He said. "Like, seriously. Nobody does the alien-wisdom thing like you."

"I know," the large gem said.

"Goodnight, Garnet."

"Goodnight, Greg."


	10. Ocean Gem

**Author's Note:** _Hey again! Welcome to the final chapter of Steven Universe 2! Thanks so much for sticking it out until the end. Steven's grown a lot, and this won't be his last outing. More about that next time when we get into Post Credits scenes. For now, enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

**Chapter 10 - Ocean Gem**

_BOOM! DA-BOOM!_

"Wah! What the-?" Steven sputtered, his eyes snapping open as the ground rumbled. Connie was up, reaching for her glasses and putting the frames on her face before remembering she didn't need them.

"What's goin' on? Did someone get in a crash?" Greg said, as he too rose from sleep.

The back door of the van was flung wide open, and Steven and Connie immediately rushed out to see what had happened. Connie made sure to sling the huge, pink sword over her shoulder as she went. Greg was seconds behind them. They had been following the coast line, and it seemed that Lapis' storm was rising once again, as the sea was churning, dark, and cold. Steven frantically looked around for Garnet and Pearl, and found neither.

_BA-BOOM!_

Another earthshaking rumble nearly took Connie off of her feet, but Steven swiftly grabbed her hand, and kept her steady. Then, there was a sound like a battle cry, from a trio of voices at once. Then, a thunderous smacking sound, and the treeline of the forest nearby split open, and a huge gem came flying out of it, crushing a small grey sedan.

Steven ogled at the newcomer. She was tall, like really tall. Opal tall, he thought. Her skin was an auburn hue, and she sported a quartet of slender arms. Her light clothes were an extravagant affair, a dark-to-light ensemble that was somewhere between a dancing dress and a tuxedo. In two of her four hands there were gems nestled, and then a third on her forehead, and her eyes were shielded by a semi-opaque pair of sunglasses. The huge gem winced and pulled herself to her feet.

"Woah! Giant woman! Who are you _?_ " Steven called up to her. The gem seemed to notice him then, and made a little pouty face.

"Oh, there goes that surprise," she muttered to herself, too quietly for anyone to hear. Then, out loud, she said: "I'll give you three guesses!"

Steven scratched his head. The gem waited patiently, holding out a hand with four digits held up and making a show of cleaning her nails with another pair of hands. Realization dawned quickly on Steven, and he grinned as he solved the riddle.

"Oh, I see! Ruby, Sapphire, and Pearl," he said. The towering gem winked.

"Right-o!" She said.

There was a flash of blinding light as she reached into her gem and produced a long spear, and then a pair of hulking gauntlets. Her hands moved lightning fast as she combined the pair, and before Steven could blink, the gem had created an enormous, lopsided hammer. She promptly plopped it on the ground before her, and rested her hands, and then her chin, on the handle.

"Put them together and you get yours truly: Sardonyx!" She said. Then, she turned back to the treeline she had emerged from. "Now, you'll have to excuse me as I cut the introductions short. We've found ourselves a new friend, and she is not very happy!"

"A new friend?" Steven echoed.

_Da-BOOM! Ba-BOOM!_

The rumbling again, and now it was growing closer. Greg gulped, and everyone turned to the torn open treeline. The ocean was now rocking furiously, so much so that the spray seemed to be reaching its way up the shoreline, to the truck stop. Then, with a ferocious roar, the forest was trampled beneath the feet of the approaching creature.

It was something like a gem, but was larger even than Sardonyx. It was centaurian, with four limbs supporting a long flank, and a humanoid torso where a beasts neck might go. She had four dangerous, green-yellow eyes, with slit pupils that were so thin they were barely visible. Her skin was a tiger-stripped pattern of greens and teals. She sported a massive, shaggy mess of white hair, as well as a pointy, angular gem where a nose might go. As she spotted the main group, Sardonyx shifted her wait, readying her hammer and gritting her teeth.

"Greg! Take the kids in the van. Now!" She said.

"What, wait!" Steven and Connie said at the same time.

"No, its too-"

Before Sardonyx could finish her sentence, there was a flash of white-pink light, and suddenly Stevonnie was standing in front of her, fists balled up. A flame burned in their dark eyes, and that fire caught Sardonyx by surprise. Greg was also very shocked by what, to him, was an entirely new development. He took a step back, his eyes going wide, but the conversation between the two fusions went on.

"It's time. You can't take her alone. Let me help," Stevonnie said.

Sardonyx looked over to the approaching monster, and then back to Stevonnie. Then, her expression shifted from distress to acceptance. She even gave a wry smile.

"You're right," she said. "I really can't do it alone."

Stevonnie grinned up at her with determination.

"Get back, Mister UniDad!" Stevonnie shouted to Greg, who, in his utter confusion, backpedaled out. He immediately wheeled the van a safe distance away, before getting out to watch the conflict from afar. As he drove off, Stevonnie turned to face the oncoming enemy gem. "OK, Sardonyx! What's the plan?"

"Remember what you learned during your trial," she said. "She's strong. We couldn't beat her with all of us, and that was before she became… this. You had a connection with her! If we can't take her down-"

Then, it was upon them. With a mighty heave it swung its upper arms in a wide strike. Stevonnie jumped high into the air, and Sardonyx dodged deftly backwards, before using the moment to bounce off of her hammer like a springboard. Somehow, she brought the weapon with, and lifted it over her head for a downwards chop on the huge gem's face. It collided, and the gem barely budged. She just grinned, reaching forward and wrapping a huge fist around Sardonyx.

" _That's right… How does it feel? Not so tough now that the playing field's leveled a bit,_ " she said, in an eerie, two-toned voice.

High in the air, still holding the levitation by kicking their feet rapidly, Stevonnie listened in. The green gem's words rung with a hint of familiarity, and it didn't take long for the fusion to reach a eureka.

"No way," they said, "it's… it's… Jasper and Lapis fused."

To their surprise, the monstrous fusion seemed to hear them, as its yellow-green eyes swiftly darted up to look at them. Tossing Sardonyx aside like a ragdoll, she held a hand out to the side, and, with a roar, channeled a blast of sea water up towards Stevonnie. As the water travelled it morphed into a grasping hand, and grabbed them by the ankle.

"Wah!" Stevonnie shouted, as they were yanked to the ground. The watery hand slammed them down into the ground in front of the fusion, and she leered down at them. They struggled for freedom, but they were pinned beneath the pressure of the watery palm.

" _I am Malachite…_ " the green fusion said, " _and we will CRUSH-_ "

 _Thwam!_ Sardonyx was back with a vengeance, delivering a commanding blow to Malachite's side, sending her end over end, flying down the coast line. The tide has risen as Malachite's storm raged on. For a moment the water appendage that was holding down Stevonnie let up, allowing them to scramble free. As Sardonyx looked down to make sure they were OK, the water snaked back in, wrapping itself around her legs. With a yelp, Sardonyx was pulled along with Malachite, and they both plunged beneath the churning waves.

Stevonnie groaned, and tried once to sit up, but found the task nigh impossible. They collapsed back into the small crater they had formed upon impact, breathing heavily. The rain splattered against their face as they caught their breath for a beat, and then, they clenched their fists, gritted their teeth, and forced themself to sit up.

"Gotta… help…" they said.

Stevonnie pivoted towards the beach, squinting to get a look the battling fusions. They were just in time to see Malachite grab Sardonyx by the arms, and, like a twisted child with a spider, yank her apart. There was a blast of white light, and both Garnet and Pearl were thrown to the beach, skidding across the sand. They didn't get up.

"Gotta… do something," Stevonnie said, wincing and limping their way towards the beach. The storm was howling now, and they had to fight the pelting wind and rain to get to the beach front. As they approached, Malachite was laughing mirthfully, her head tilted back. The human-gem fusion knelt beside Garnet, and hung their head. "I'm sorry Garnet…"

Then, Stevonnie turned to Malachite.

"I'm sorry Connie. What?" They said. Their eye twitched. "What are- No… Don't!"

Their voice warped, and a faint glow began to pulse on and off in their gem.

"Let me help? This is helping! I- I-"

With a flash of light, the magic was broken, and Steven and Connie split apart. Steven had his gaze latched onto the cackling Malachite. Connie was looking at Steven, betrayed.

"She has to see me," Steven said. Then, without another word, he pushed on against the storm. Connie stayed by Garnet, holding onto the strap that held the sword over her shoulder. As she watched him go, squinting against the rain, she couldn't but realize how small he seemed, in comparison to Malachite. Once again, she was helpless. It made her furious. Her sword meant nothing against something so powerful. All she could do was watch, and hope that her friend's plan was successful.

As Steven approached, one of Malachite's four eyes popped open, and locked onto him. Her laughter ceased, and she squinted down, trying to get a better look at him. Her eyes were glazed and inhuman, but a flash of recognition crossed all four of them, and as Steven reached the edge of the beach, the was looming over him. Her breathing became slow and heavy. Steven looked up at her, his hands held at his sides.

"Lapis," he called out, "Jasper… Malachite. I don't want to fight you."

" _I don't care what you want!"_ Malachite roared, rearing back.

The oceans mirrored her, and for a moment, Steven feared that he would be swept away by the crash waves. However, just before the water came plummeting down to crush him, it froze in the air. Steven blinked in surprise at the unmoving watery spires, and then turned his attention to Malachite's face, which was intent and locked onto him.

"I think we can heal your gem," Steven continued, after a hesitant moment. "Please, I just want to help you."

One of Malachite's teal fists clenched shut, and one of her eyes twitched. Steven gulped as she suddenly leaned in close, slamming a fist on the beach beside him and swooping her massive head in close to peer at him. Fighting his fear, Steven stood his ground, and stared directly into her tawny eyes. Then, she started to speak, but only ended up baring her teeth and making some grunts.

" _C… C…_ "

"Lapis… I'm sorry the gems attacked you. I tried to explain, but they were scared. They've been hunted for thousands of years… but I _do_ want to help you!" Steven said. "Jasper… I want to help you too, if you'll let me."

Something snapped inside Malachite.

With an angry growl, she swiped her hand forward, snatching Steven into her clutches with ease. He gave a little gasp as the air was pushed out of his lungs by the massive hand he was held in. He had not the strength to struggle free. He simply watched as Malachite called forth another pillar of water behind her, and turned murderously. Her eyes glowed faintly, and she snarled again, as she started to make a crushing motion at Steven.

" _N-no! Wait!"_

Malachite froze. Steven looked on, surprised. The words had come from her.

" _He… Saved us. We- CRUSH! He is- our enemy!"_ The massive fusion said, her face twitching in various directions. Steven realized that Lapis and Jasper were fighting for control. He recognized it all too well. " _No, he- is a traitor! He… He's our friend!"_

Steven yelped as he was suddenly flung from Malachite's grasp, and sucked in a breath to quickly summon his floating powers, lighting the fall as he landed, gently on the beach. Steven ran over to him, alongside a weakened Pearl and Garnet, and the trio looked on to watch the rest of Malachite's display. She was roaring now, holding her head and shaking her massive white mane.

" _What is-? What are-? You IDIOT! He's a rebel shatterer!"_ Malachite said, her eyes flickering closer to yellow. She spun on the group of the beach, murderously. " _We're strong enough. We have the upper hand! We have to do it now!"_

Malachite lunged forward. Steven tried, desperately, so summon his shield, but made only a weak, pink saucer. The group huddled in, preparing for impact. Then, Malachite stopped again.

" _Huh?"_

Splash! Splash! Suddenly, some of the water tendrils flew in and latched themselves onto the back limbs of the teal fusion, forming solid cuffs from hard water, and locking her in place. She roared in dismay, and scrabbled at the beach, trying to reach at Steven, a wild look in her eye that shook the boy to his core. SplashSplash! Two more water cuffs flew in, and latched onto the front wrists of the gem. She was then hauled back towards the ocean, and held up it by her watery bondage.

" _You idiot… Idiot! We have them! We-"_

A watery clamp suddenly closed over Malachite's mouth, and she struggled for a few moments more, before her eyes receded to faint, glassy orbs. Steven knew those eyes, and they locked onto his for a long moment, before, with a low splash, Malachite was pulled beneath the sea.

For a few long minutes, nobody said anything. Then, a warm sensation began to slowly creep its way up their backs and arms. Connie turned to peer up at the sky behind them, only to find the sun peeking out. The rain had stopped, for now. The storm was fading away. Connie looked at Steven, whose eyes were still on the ocean, which was rapidly calming. The silence was broken only when the van came rumbling up behind them. A door slammed, seeming to shake Steven back into this plane of reality, and Greg came slipping down the sandy beachside.

"Is she… gone?" He asked. Garnet nodded to him. "Is that good or bad? _Oof~"_

Greg lost some of his breath as Steven came barreling in, throwing his arms around his dad. Greg returned the embrace warmly, and was gently petting Steven's head when he turned to the others.

"So, what's the plan?"

"The plan is," Pearl said, "we go home."

"It's a long drive to Beach City," Garnet agreed. She looked at Steven, who's face was still buried in Greg's chest. "We could all use some rest."

"Let's go home," Steven said.

That was the end of the conversation.


	11. Epilogue and Post-Credits Scenes

**Author's Note:** _This is it! The end of SU2! Enjoy, and stick around till the end to see what's on the horizon. Its a big one._

* * *

**Epilogue**

They broke the bad news to Amethyst when they got back. Then, Amethyst broke some bad news of her own.

Peridot had escaped.

It happened before they had even left. She had used Lapis as a distraction, and scrambled away via the warp pad, more than likely. The only thing she had left was her tape recorder. Amethyst handed it to Steven, who played it back morosely. Peridot explained about her experience with Steven and her lock up, spoke a bit about Lapis, and then her true intentions were revealed.

Her recording talked about how, in secret, she was still in contact with Yellow Diamond, via the use of a small group of robots that had survived the destruction of the Hand Ship. The final recording was a gloating monologue about how she had fooled them all. Everyone was already crushed. She was added to the list of daily problems to work on.

Nobody blamed Amethyst, except herself.

**End of Book 5**

* * *

**Post Credits Scene 1**

A few days later, Steven was on the porch with his lion, enjoying one of (probably) the last nice days of summer, before fall came rolling in. Summer vacation, as Connie called it, ended in a few weeks. That meant her time with him (and with her newfound instructor Pearl) would be limited. Even now her time was dwindling, as Steven hardly saw her face to face. They talked in passing when she dropped by for training, and over the phone, and that was pretty much it.

Today, they talked over the phone. Steven had the phone pressed between his shoulder and his ear, and was using his free arm to dig around inside of lion's mane. To his surprise he had been able to reach all the way up to the elbow.

"What the-" Steven said, as his arm vanished into some kind of magical sinkhole.

" _Hmm?"_ Connie inquired through the phone in his ear.

"I think… I found something," Steven said. He leaned in further, and then gave a yelp of surprise as he suddenly went falling forward.

Lion had rolled onto its back, and the momentum caused Steven to fall, face-first, into the great beasts light pink mane. There was a mystical _warp_ sound, and Steven suddenly vanished. With a _clack,_ his phone landed on the deck.

" _What is it?"_ Connie's voice came from the abandoned phone. Lion glanced at it semi-curiously, and then sat up and scratched it's ear. " _Hello?"_

Lion's eyes went wide, and there was another warping sound as Steven's head suddenly came protruding out of the beast's chest fur. He gasped for air, and in a strange, crawling motion, rolled out onto the deck. Something was clutched in his hand. He quickly snatched up the phone, panting as he regained his breath.

"Connie?"

" _Yeah?"_

Steven glanced down at the VHS tape he had returned with. It was plain, and marked only with the words: " _for Steven"_ in unfamiliar handwriting.

"I think I know where the sword came from."

* * *

**Post Credits Scene 2**

**The Moon of Earth**

**August, 2010**

The signature chiming sound of the warp pad echoed into nothingness, swallowed by the emptiness of space. Peridot held her robot close to her chest for comfort, as she stood on the warp pad, taking in the gem moon base. They had passed it on the way into the planet's atmosphere, but it was one of many gem sites that Peridot had wanted to explore. Wanted, but had never gotten the chance to, thanks for various roadblocks and unforeseen circumstances.

 _Those days are behind us,_ the little green gem thought with glee, cackling as she began walking across the grey dunes and craters that approached the moon base. As she walked, a sinking feeling found itself in her chest once more. She pushed thoughts of Steven away, and no sooner had that emotion faded than another presented itself: anxiety. Peridot saw the bladed, stingray shaped ship. Its sleek black armor. She didn't recognize it. She saw the door of the base propped ajar.

She was expected.

She continued towards the door (now at a much more cautious pace) until she was stopped in her tracks. As if to prove her suspicions, a singular, red-skinned alien appeared. She was close to Peridot's height, with a red gemstone inlaid in her arm.

"Technician," the Ruby said. Peridot squinted.

"A Ruby?"

"Follow me. Lord Vilgax is waiting for you."

"Who?"

"We shouldn't make him wait," the Ruby said.

Peridot's suspicion increased. The Ruby seemed diminished, the flame that usually burned behind the warrior gem's eyes was dull, distant, snuffed. She moved like a gem possessed. This was troubling to Peridot. However, with the galaxy warp destroyed, she had no alternative. She followed the Ruby inside. Peridot was led down the main hallway, to a room that (due to her years of studying architectural blueprints) she identified as the viewing chamber. The room where the viewing sphere, a powerful surveillance artifact, was kept.

Waiting outside the entrance were the rest of the Ruby's cohorts. One of them, whose gem was in her chest, seemed to show a flicker of her old self as Peridot approached. She tried to stammer something, but before Peridot could try to decipher it, she went dormant, and the doorway hissed open. The technician entered, following her silent invitation, and to her discomfort, the brainwashed Rubies filed in behind her. Then, the door hissed shut.

The room was dimly lit, only by a few crystal sconces at a large vat in the center of the chamber. The viewing sphere, a large, orb-like artifact, hung dormant above its antigravity pedestal. However, the sphere was the last thing Peridot was focusing on. What had her attention was the being held within the vat. It was massive, tentacular, and broken. It had many faded scars at the ends of its severed appendages, and bubbles were streaming consistently out from a breathing apparatus strapped to the being's assumable mouth.

Peridot stared for a long moment at the tube, before a powerful voice pierced her thoughts.

_**I KNOW WHAT YOU ARE CAPABLE OF. I HAVE NEED OF YOUR SKILLS.** _

Peridot's hand flew to the gem in her forehead. She winced. The psionic intrusion, she assumed, was causing a lot of interference, and creating a loud, pulsing ring in her mind. The ringing was strong, but so too was Peridot's will. She fought back the first onslaught, but not without breaking a sweat.

"What… Do you want… From me?" She asked.

_**YOU WILL BUILD MY NEW BODY.** _

Again Peridot flinched, but as she was projected imagery of what the injured alien was looking for. Shaking her head until it stopped ringing, Peridot let the room stop spinning before she answered.

"Tch… I… I need my tools," she said. "Limb enhancers."

There was a moment of consideration, and then the sound of mechanical movement from the halls beyond. Then the entrance hissed open again, and the Rubies stepped aside to reveal a small train of orange and black drones. They carried various pieces of stripped mechanics and technology, including but not limited to gem limb enhancers. The drones dumped the precious tech unceremoniously on the floor, and Peridot scrambled over to examine it like a kid in a candy store.

_**THIS SHOULD BE SUFFICIENT.** _

"Yes… This will do well," she said, finding a suitable pair of enhancement gauntlets and attaching them to her hands. Her confidence briefly resurging, Peridot walked over to the lead gem, and snatched the yellow visor from her face, donning it as her own like she had seen the Garnet do. Then, she turned to the floating being, who she assumed was called Vilgax.

"I'll get started without delay."

**Next Time: Phase 1, Book 6**

**Danger Watch**

* * *

**Subnote:** _Thanks for making it to the end! If you liked or didn't like the story, be sure to let me know why in the reviews! You heard it right: next up is the first big blowout: Danger Watch. Ben 10, Steven Universe, Jake Long, XJ-9, and more will come together in an epic crossover finale to the first phase!_

_That's coming soon, but that's not all. I'll also be coming out with a new fic called "Danger Shots". It's basically going to be a series of one shots, snapshots, and drabble within the Danger Watch canon. It will mostly be fluff, with the occasional side story thrown in. Keep your eyes peeled for that too!_

_With that, I just have to thank you all once again. Until next time, I've been Sunshine. See you soon!_


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